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'.'B.-^KLES S. f'R_YI.-CI! 



THE 



LAY Oh THE LAST MINSTREL ; 
31 f3oem. 



BY 



SIR WALTER SCOTT. 



Dura relego, scripsisse pudet; quia piurima cerno, 
Me quoque, qui feci, judice, digna lirii. 



A NEW EDITION, WITH THE AUTHOR'S LATEST CORRECTIONS. 



NEW YORK : 

C. S. FRANCIS & CO., 252 BROADWAY. 

BOSTON : 
JOSEPH H. FRANCIS, 128 WASHINGTON STREET. 

1849. 



1R 






US' 



INTRODUCTION 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



[The Introduction to The Lay of the Last Min- 
strel, written in April, 1830, was revised by the author 
in the autumn of 1831, when he also made some cor- 
rections in the text of the poem, and several additions 
to the notes. The work is now printed from his inter- 
leaved copy. — Ed.] 



INTRODUCTION 



TO THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



A poem of nearly thirty years' standing may be sup- 
posed hardly to need an Introduction, since, without 
one, it has been able to keep itself afloat through the 
best part of a generation. Nevertheless, as, in the 
edition of the Waverley Novels now in course of pub- 
lication, I have imposed on myself the task of saying 
something concerning the purpose and history of each, 
in their turn, I am desirous that the Poems for which 
I first received some marks of the public favour, should 
also be accompanied with such scraps of their literary 
history as may be supposed to carry interest along with 
them. Even if I should be mistaken in thinking that 
the secret history of what was once so popular, may 
still attract public attention and curiosity, it seems to 
me not without its use to record the manner and cir- 
cumstances under which the present, and other Poems 
on the same plan, attained for a season an extensive 
reputation. 

I must resume the story of my literary labours at 
the period at which I broke oflf in the Essay on the 
Imitation of Popular Poetry, when I had enjoyed the 
first gleam of public favour, by the success of the first 
edition of the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. The 
second edition of that work, published in 1891, proved, 



10 INTRODUCTION TO THE 

in the language of the trade, rather a heavy concern. 
The demand in Scotland had been supplied by the first 
edition, and the curiosity of the English was not much 
awakened by poems in the rude garb of antiquity, ac- 
companied with notes referring to the obscure feuds of 
barbarous clans, of whose very names civilized history 
was ignorant. It was, on the whole, one of those books 
which are more praised than they are read. 

At this time I stood personally in a different position 
from that which I occupied when I first dipt my des- 
perate pen in ink for other purposes than those of my 
profession. In 1796, when I first published the trans- 
lations from Burger, I was an insulated individual, with 
only my own wants to provide for, and having, in a 
great measure, my own inclinations alone to consult. 
In 1803, when the second edition of the Minstrelsy 
appeared, I had arrived at a period of life when men, 
however thoughtless, encounter duties and circumstances 
w r hich press consideration and plans of life upon the 
most careless minds. I had been for some time married 
— was the father of a rising family, and, though fully 
enabled to meet the consequent demands upon me, it 
was my duty and desire to place myself in a situation 
which would enable me to make honourable provision 
against the various contingencies of life. 

It may be readily supposed that the attempts which 
I had made in literature had been unfavourable to my 
success at the bar. The goddess Themis is, at Edin- 
burgh, and I suppose everywhere else, of a peculiarly 
jealous disposition. She will not readily consent to 
share her authority, and sternly demands from her 
votaries, not only that real duty be carefully attended 
to and discharged, but that a certain air of business 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. ll 

shall be observed even in the midst of total idleness. 
It is prudent, if not absolutely necessary, in a young 
barrister, to appear completely engrossed by his profes- 
sion ; however destitute of employment he may in 
reality be, he ought to preserve, if possible, the appear- 
ance of full occupation. He should, therefore, seem 
perpetually engaged among his law-papers, dusting 
them, as it were ; and, as Ovid advises the fair, 
" Si nullus erit pulvis, tamen excute nullum." 1 

Perhaps such extremity of attention is more especially 
required, considering the great number of counsellors 
who are called to the bar, and how very small a pro- 
portion of them are finally disposed, or find encourage- 
ment, to follow the law as a profession. Hence the 
number of deserters is so great, that the least linger- 
ing look behind occasions a young novice to be set down 
as one of the intending fugitives. Certain it is, that the 
Scottish Themis was at this time peculiarly jealous of 
any flirtation with the Muses, on the part of those who 
had ranged themselves under her banners. This was 
probably owing to her consciousness of the superior 
attractions of her rivals. Of late, however, she has 
relaxed in some instances in this particular, an eminent 
example of which has been shown in the case of my 
friend, Mr. Jeffrey, who, after long conducting one of the 
most influential literary periodicals of the age, with 
unquestionable ability, has been, by the general con- 
sent of his brethren, recently elected to be their Dean 
of Faculty, or President, — being the highest acknow- 
ledgment of his professional talents which they had ic 

1 [If dust be none, yet brush that none away.] 



12 INTRODUCTION TO THE 

in their power to offer. l But this is an incident much 
beyond the ideas of a period of thirty years' distance, 
when a barrister who really possessed any turn for 
lighter literature, was at as much pains to conceal it, 
as if it had in reality been something to be ashamed 
of; and I could mention more than one instance in 
which literature and society have suffered much loss, 
that jurisprudence might be enriched. 

Such, however, was not my case; for the reader 
will not wonder that my open interference with matters 
of light literature diminished my employment in the 
weightier matters of the law. Nor did the solicitors, 
upon whose choice the counsel takes rank in his pro- 
fession, do me less than justice, by regarding others 
among my contemporaries as fitter to discharge the duty 
due to their clients, than a young man who was taken 
up with running after ballads, whether Teutonic or 
national. My profession and I, therefore, came to stand 
nearly upon the footing which honest Slender consoled 
himself on having established with Mistress Anne Page ; 
" There was no great love between us at the beginning, 
and it pleased Heaven to decrease it on farther ac- 
quaintance." I became sensible that the time was 
come when I must either buckle myself resolutely to 
the " toil by day, the lamp by night," renouncing all 
the Delilahs of my imagination, or bid adieu to the 
profession of the law, and hold another course. 

I confess my own inclination revolted from the more 
severe choice, which might have been deemed by many 

1 [Mr. Jeffrey, after conducting the Edinburgh Review for 
twenty-seven years, withdrew from that office in 1829, on being 
elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. — Ed.] 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 13 

the wiser alternative. As my transgressions had been 
numerous, my repentance must have been signalized 
by unusual sacrifices. I ought to have mentioned, that 
since my fourteenth or fifteenth year, my health, ori- 
ginally delicate, had become extremely robust. From 
infancy I had laboured under the infirmity of a severe 
lameness, but, as I believe is usually the case with men 
of spirit who suffer under personal inconveniences of 
this nature, I had, since the improvement of my health, 
in defiance of this incapacitating circumstance, distin- 
guished myself by the endurance of toil on foot or 
horseback, having often walked thirty miles a-day, and 
rode upwards of a hundred, without resting. In this 
manner I made many pleasant journeys through parts 
of the country then not very accessible, gaining more 
amusement and instruction than I have been able to 
acquire since I have travelled in a more commodious 
manner. I practised most sylvan sports also, with some 
success, and with great delight. But these pleasures 
must have been all resigned, or used with great moder- 
ation, had I determined to regain my station at the bar. 
It was even doubtful whether I could, with perfect 
character as a jurisconsult, retain a situation in a vol- 
unteer corps of cavalry, which I then held. The 
threats of invasion were at this time instant and mena- 
cing ; the call by Britain on her children was universal, 
and was answered by some, who, like myself, consulted 
rather their desire than their ability to bear arms. My 
services, however, were found useful in assisting to main- 
tain the discipline of the corps, being the point on which 
their constitution rendered them most amenable to 
military criticism. In other respects, the squadron was 
a fine one, consisting chiefly of handsome men, well 
Vol. I. 2 



14 INTRODUCTION TO THE 

mounted and armed at their own expense. My attention 
to the corps took up a good deal of time ; and while it 
occupied many of the happiest hours of my life, it fur- 
nished an additional reason for my reluctance again to 
encounter the severe course of study indispensable to 
success in the juridical profession. 

On the other hand, my father, whose feelings might 
have been hurt by my quitting the bar, had been for 
two or three years dead, so that I had no control to 
thwart my own inclination ; and my income being 
equal to all the comforts, and some of the elegancies, 
of life, I was not pressed to an irksome labour by ne- 
cessity, that most powerful of motives; consequently, 
I was the more easily seduced to choose the employ- 
ment which was most agreeable to me. This was yet 
the easier, that in 1800 I had obtained the preferment 
of Sheriff of Selkirkshire, about £300 a year in value, 
and which was the more agreeable to me, as in that 
county I had several friends and relations. But I did 
not abandon the profession to which I had been edu- 
cated, without certain prudential resolutions, which, 
at the risk of some egotism, I will here mention ; not 
without the hope that they may be useful to young per- 
sons who may stand in circumstances similar to those 
in which I then stood. 

In the first place, upon considering the lives and for- 
tunes of persons who had given themselves up to liter- 
ature, or to the task of pleasing the public, it seemed 
to me, that the circumstances which chiefly affected 
their happiness and character, were those from which 
Horace has bestowed upon authors the epithet of the 
Irritable Race. It requires no depth of philosophic 
reflection to perceive, that the petty warfare of Pope 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. ] 5 

with the Dunces of his period could not have been 
carried on without his suffering the most acute torture, 
such as a man must endure from musquitoes, by 
whose stings he suffers agony, although he can crush 
them in his grasp by myriads. Nor is it necessary to call 
to memory the many humiliating instances in which 
men of the greatest genius have, to avenge some piti- 
ful quarrel, made themselves ridiculous during their 
lives, to become the still more degraded objects of pitv 
to future times. 

Upon the whole, as I had no pretension to the ge- 
nius of the distinguished persons who had fallen into 
such errors, I concluded there could be no occasion for 
imitating them in their mistakes, or what I considered 
as such ; and, in adopting literary pursuits as the prin- 
cipal occupation of my future life, I resolved, if possi- 
ble, to avoid those weaknesses of temper which seemed 
to have most easily beset my more celebrated prede- 
cessors. 

With this view, it was my first resolution to keep as 
far as was in my power abreast of society, continuing 
to maintain my place in general company, without 
yielding to the very natural temptation of narrowing 
myself to what is called literary society. By doing so, 
I imagined I should escape the besetting sin of listening 
to language, which, from one motive or other, is apt to 
ascribe a very undue degree of consequence to literary 
pursuits, as if they were, indeed, the business, rather 
than the amusement, of life. The opposite course can 
only be compared to the injudicious conduct of one who 
pampers himself with cordial and luscious draughts, 
until he is unable to endure wholesome bitters. Like 
Gil Bias, therefore, I resolved to stick by the society of 



16 INTRODUCTION TO THE 

my commis, instead of seeking that of a more literary 
cast, and to maintain my general interest in what was 
going on around me, reserving the man of letters for 
the desk and the library. 

My second resolution was a corollary from the first. 
I determined that, without shutting my ears to the voice 
of true criticism, I would pay no regard to that which 
assumes the form of satire. I therefore resolved to 
arm myself with that triple brass of Horace, of which 
those of my profession are seldom held deficient, against 
all the roving warfare of satire, parody, and sarcasm ; 
to laugh if the jest was a good one, or, if otherwise, to 
let it hum and buzz itself to sleep. 

It is to the observance of these rules, (according to 
my best belief,) that, after a life of thirty years engaged 
in literary labours of various kinds, I attribute my never 
having been entangled in any literary quarrel or con- 
troversy; and, which is a still more pleasing result, that 
I have been distinguished by the personal friendship of 
my most approved contemporaries of all parties. 

I adopted, at the same time, another resolution, on 
which it may doubtless be remarked, that it was well 
for me that I had it in my power to do so, and that, 
therefore, it is a line of conduct which, depending upon 
accident, can be less generally applicable in other cases. 
Yet I fail not to record this part of my plan, convinced 
that, though it may not be in every one's power to adopt 
exactly the same resolution, he may nevertheless, by 
his own exertions, in some shape or other, attain the 
object on which it was founded, namely, to secure the 
means of subsistence, without relying exclusively on 
literary talents. In this respect, I determined that 
literature should be my staff, but not my crutch, and 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 17 

that the profits of my literary labour, however conve- 
nient otherwise, should not, if I could help it, become 
necessary to my ordinary expenses. With this purpose 
I resolved, if the interest of my friends could so far 
favour me, to retire upon any of the respectable offices 
of the law, in which persons of that profession are glad 
to take refuge, when they feel themselves, or are judged 
by others, incompetent to aspire to its higher honours. 
Upon such a post an author might hope to retreat, 
without any perceptible alteration of circumstances, 
whenever the time should arrive that the public grew 
weary of his endeavours to please, or he himself should 
tire of the pen. At this period of my life, I possessed 
so many friends capable of assisting me in this object 
of ambition, that I could hardly over-rate my own 
prospects of obtaining the preferment to which I limited 
my wishes ; and, in fact, I obtained in no long period 
the reversion of a situation which completely met them. 
Thus far all was well, and the Author had been 
guilty, perhaps, of no great imprudence, when he relin- 
quished his forensic practice with the hope of making 
some figure in the field of literature. But an estab- 
lished character with the public, in my new capacity, 
still remained to be acquired. I have noticed, that the 
translations from Burger had been unsuccessful, nor 
had the original poetry which appeared under the aus- 
pices of Mr. Lewis, in the " Tales of Wonder," in any 
great degree raised my reputation. It is true, I had 
private friends disposed to second me in my efforts to 
obtain popularity. But I was sportsman enough to 
know, that if the greyhound does not run well, the hal- 
loos of his patrons will not obtain the prize for him. 
2* 



18 INTRODUCTION TO THE 

Neither was I ignorant that the practice of ballad- 
writing was for the present out of fashion, and that any 
attempt to revive it, or to found a poetical character 
upon it, would certainly fail of success. The ballad 
measure itself, which was once listened to as to an en- 
chanting melody, had become hackneyed and sickening, 
from its being the accompaniment of every grinding 
hand-organ ; and besides, a long work in quatrains, 
whether those of the common ballad, or such as are 
termed elegiac, has an effect upon the mind like that 
of the bed of Procrustes upon the human body ; for, as 
it must be both awkward and difficult to carry on a 
long sentence from one stanza to another, it follows, 
that the meaning of each period must be comprehended 
within four lines, and equally so that it must be extend- 
ed so as to fill that space. The alternate dilation and 
contraction thus rendered necessary is singularly unfa- 
vourable to narrative composition; and the "Gondibert" 
of Sir William D'Avenant, though containing many 
striking passages, has never become popular, owing 
chiefly to its being told in this species of elegiac verse. 

In the dilemma occasioned by this objection, the idea 
occurred to the Author of using the measured short 
line, which forms the structure of so much minstrel 
poetry, that it may be properly termed the Romantic 
stanza, by way of distinction ; and which appears so 
natural to our language, that the very best of our poets 
have not been able to protract it into the verse properly 
called Heroic, without the use of epithets which are, to 
say the least, unnecessary. 1 But, on the other hand, 

1 Thus it has been often remarked, that, in the opening cou- 
plets of Pope's translation of the Iliad, there are two syllables 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 19 

the extreme facility of the short couplet, which seems 
congenial to our language, and was, doubtless for that 
reason, so popular with our old minstrels, is, for the 
same reason, apt to prove a snare to the composer who 
uses it in more modern days, by encouraging him in a 
habit of slovenly composition. The necessity of occa- 
sional pauses often forces the young poet to pay more 
attention to sense, as the boy's kite rises highest when 
the train is loaded by a due counterpoise. The Author 
was therefore intimidated by what Byron calls the 
" fatal facility" of the octo-syllabic verse, which was 
otherwise better adapted to his purpose of imitating 
the more ancient poetry. 

I was not less at a loss for a subject which might 
admit of being treated with the simplicity and wildness 
of the ancient ballad. But accident dictated both a 
theme and measure, which decided the subject, as well 
as the structure of the poem. 

The lovely young Countess of Dalkeith, afterwards 
Harriet Duchess of Buccleuch, had come to the land 
of her husband with the desire of making herself ac- 
quainted with its traditions and customs, as well as its 
manners and history. All who remember this lady will 
agree, that the intellectual character of her extreme 
beauty, the amenity and courtesy of her manners, the 
soundness of her understanding, and her unbounded 

forming a superfluous word in each line, as may be observed by 
attending to such words as are printed in Italics. 

" Achilles' wrath to Greece the direful spring 

Of woes unnumber'd, heavenly goddess, sing; 

That wrath which sent to Pluto's gloomy reign, 

The souls of mighty chiefs in battle slain, 

Whose bones, unburied on the desert shore, 

Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore." 



20 INTRODUCTION TO THE 

benevolence, gave more the idea of an angelic visitant, 
than of a being belonging to this nether world ; and 
such a thought was but too consistent with the short 
space she was permitted to tarry among us.' Of course, 
where all made it a pride and pleasure to gratify her 
wishes, she soon heard enough of Border lore ; among 
others, an aged gentleman of property, 2 near Langholm, 
communicated to her ladyship the story of Gilpin Hor- 
ner, a tradition in which the narrator, and many more 
of that country, were firm believers. The young 
Countess, much delighted with the legend, and the 
gravity and full confidence with which it was told, en- 
joined on me as a task to compose a ballad on the sub- 
ject. Of course, to hear was to obey ; and thus the 
goblin story, objected to by several critics as an excres- 
cence upon the poem, was, in fact, the occasion of its 
being written. 

A chance similar to that which dictated the subject, 

1 [The Duchess died in August 1814. Sir Walter Scott's lines 
on her death will be found in a subsequent volume of this Col- 
lection. — Ed.] 

2 This was Mr. Beattie of Mickledale, a man then considerably 
upwards of eighty, of a shrewd and sarcastic temper, which he 
did not at all times suppress, as the following anecdote will show : 
A worthy clergyman, now deceased, with better good-will than 
tact, was endeavouring to push the senior forward in his recollec- 
tion of Border ballads and legends, by expressing reiterated sur- 
prise at his wonderful memory. " No, sir," said old Mickledale ; 
" my memory is good for little, for it cannot retain what ought to 
be preserved. I can remember all these stories about the auld 
riding days, which are of no earthly importance ; but were you, 
reverend sir, to repeat your best sermon in this drawing-room, I 
could not tell you half an hour afterwards what you had been 
speaking about." 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 21 

gave me also the hint of a new mode of treating it. 
We had at that time the lease of a pleasant cottage, 
near Lasswade, on the romantic banks of the Esk, to 
which we escaped when the vacations of the Court 
permitted me so much leisure. Here I had the plea- 
sure to receive a visit from Mr. Stoddart, (now Sir 
John Stoddart, Judge-Advocate at Malta,) who was at 
that time collecting the particulars which he afterwards 
embodied in his Remarks on Local Scenery in Scot- 
land. 1 I was of some use to him in procuring the 
information which he desired, and guiding him to the 
scenes which he wished to see. In return, he made 
me better acquainted than I had hitherto been with 
the poetic effusions which have since made the Lakes 
of Westmoreland, and the authors by whom they have 
been sung, so famous wherever the English tongue is 
spoken. 

I was already acquainted with the " Joan of Arc," 
the "Thalaba," and the "Metrical Ballads" cf Mr. 
Southey, which had found their way to Scotland, and 
were generally admired. But Mr. Stoddart, who had 
the advantage of personal friendship with the authors, 
and who possessed a strong memory with an excellent 
taste, was able to repeat to me many long specimens 
of their poetry, which had not yet appeared in print. 
Amongst others, was the striking fragment called Chris- 
tabel, by Mr. Coleridge, which, from the singularly 
irregular structure of the stanzas, and the liberty 
which it allowed the author to adapt the sound to the 
sense, seemed to be exactly suited to such an extrava- 
ganza as I meditated on the subject of Gilpin Horner. 

1 Two volumes, royal octavo. 1801. 



22 INTRODUCTION TO THE 

As applied to comic and humorous poetry, this mesco 
lanza of measures had been already used by- Anthony 
Hall, Anstey, Dr. Wolcott, and others ; but it was in 
Christabel that I first found it used in serious poetry, 
and it is to Mr. Coleridge that I am bound to make the 
acknowledgment due from the pupil to his master. 1 
observe that Lord Byron, in noticing my obligations to 
Mr. Coleridge, which I have been always most ready 
to acknowledge, expressed, or was understood to ex- 
press, a hope, that I did not write an unfriendly review 
on Mr. Coleridge's productions. 1 On this subject I 
have only to say, that I do not even know the review 
which is alluded to; and were I ever to take the unbe- 
coming freedom of censuring a man of Mr. Coleridge's 
extraordinary talents, it would be on account of the 
caprice and indolence with which he has thrown from 
him, as if in mere wantonness, those unfinished scraps 
of poetry, which, like the Torso of antiquity, defy the 
skill of his poetical brethren to complete them. The 
charming fragments which the author abandons to 
their fate, are surely too valuable to be treated like 
the proofs of careless engravers, the sweepings of whose 
studios often make the fortune of some pains-taking 
collector. 

I did not immediately proceed upon my projected 
labour, though I was now furnished with a subject, and 
with a structure of verse which might have the effect 
of novelty to the public ear, and afford the author an 
opportunity of varying his measure with the variations 
of a romantic theme. On the contrary, it was, to the 
best of my recollection, more than a year after Mr. 

1 Medwin's Conversations of Lord Byron, p. 309. 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 23 

Stoddart's visit, that, by way of experiment, I composed 
the first two or three stanzas of " The Lay of the Last 
Minstrel." I was shortly afterwards visited by two 
intimate friends, one of whom still survives. They 
were men whose talents might have raised them to 
the highest station in literature, had they not preferred 
exerting them in their own profession of the law, in 
which they attained equal preferment. I was in the 
habit of consulting them on my attempts at composition, 
having equal confidence in their sound taste and friendly 
sincerity. 1 In this specimen I had, in the phrase of the 
Highland servant, packed all that was my own at least, 
for I had also included a line of invocation, a little 
softened, from Coleridge — 

" Mary, mother, shield as well." 

As neither of my friends said much to me on the sub- 
ject of the stanzas I showed them before their depar- 
ture, I had no doubt that their disgust had been greater 
than their good-nature chose to express. Looking upon 
them, therefore, as a failure, I threw the manuscript 
into the fire, and thought as little more as I could of 
the matter. Some time afterwards I met one of my 
two counsellors, who enquired, with considerable ap- 
pearance of interest, about the progress of the romance 
I had commenced, and was greatly surprised at learn- 
ing its fate. He confessed that neither he nor our mu- 
tual friend had been at first able to give a precise 



1 One of these, William Erskine, Esq. (Lord KinnedJer), I 
have often had occasion to mention, and though I may hardly be 
thanked for disclosing the name of the other, yet I cannot but 
state that the second is George Cranstoun, Esq., now a Senator 
of the College of Justice by the title of Lord Corehouse. 1831. 



24 INTRODUCTION TO THE 

opinion on a poem so much out of the common road, 
but that as they walked home together to the city, they 
had talked much on the subject, and the result was an 
earnest desire that I would proceed with the composi- 
tion. He also added, that some sort of prologue might 
be necessary, to place the mind of the hearers in the 
situation to understand and enjoy the poem, and recom- 
mended the adoption of such quaint mottoes as Spenser 
has used to announce the contents of the chapters of 
the Faery Queen, such as — 

" Babe's bloody hands may not be cleansed. 

The face of golden Mean : 
Her sisters two, Extremities, 

Her strive to banish clean." 

I entirely agreed with my friendly critic in the neces- 
sity of having some sort of pitch-pipe, which might 
make readers aware of the object, or rather the tone, 
of the publication. But I doubted whether, in assuming 
the oracular style of Spenser's mottoes, the interpreter 
might not be censured as the harder to be understood 
of the two. I therefore introduced the Old Minstrel, 
as an appropriate prolocutor, by whom the lay might be 
sung, or spoken, and the introduction of whom betwixt 
the cantos might remind the reader, at intervals, of the 
time, place, and circumstances of the recitation. This 
species of cadre, or frame, afterwards afforded the poem 
its name of " The Lay of the Last Minstrel." 

The work was subsequently shown to other friends 
during its progress, and received the imprimatur of Mr. 
Francis Jeffrey, who had been already for some time 
distinguished by his critical talent. 

The poem, being once licensed by the critics as fit 
for the market, was soon finished, proceeding at about 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 25 

tht rate of a canto per week. There was, indeed, 
little occasion for pause or hesitation, when a trouble- 
some rhyme might be accommodated by an alteration 
of the stanza, or where an incorrect measure might be 
remedied by a variation in the rhyme. It was finally 
published in 1805, and may be regarded as the first 
work in which the writer, who has been since so volu- 
minous, laid his claim to be considered as an original 
author. 

The book was published by Longman and Company, 
and Archibald Constable and Company. The principal 
of the latter firm was then commencing that course of 
bold and liberal industry which was of so much advan- 
tage to his country, and might have been so to himself, 
but for causes which it is needless to enter into here. 
The work, brought out on the usual terms of division 
of profits between the author and publishers, was not 
long after purchased by them for £500, to which 
Messrs. Longman and Company afterwards added £100, 
in their own unsolicited kindness, in consequence of the 
uncommon success of the work. It was handsomely 
given to supply the loss of a fine horse, which broke 
down suddenly while the author was riding with one 
of the worthy publishers. 1 

It would be great affectation not to own frankly, that 
the author expected some success from " The Lay of 
the Last Minstrel." The attempt to return to a more 
simple and natural style of poetry was likely to be 
welcomed, at a time when the public had become tired 
of heroic hexameters, with all the buckram and bind- 
ing which belong to them of later days. But whatever 



1 [Mr. Owen Rees. — Ed.] 
Vol.1. 3 



26 INTRODUCTION TO THE LAY. 

might have been his expectations, whether moderate 
or unreasonable, the result left them far behind, for 
among those who smiled on the adventurous Minstrel, 
were numbered the great names of William Pitt and 
Charles Fox. Neither was the extent of the sale 
inferior to the character of the judges who received 
the poem with approbation. Upwards of thirty thou- 
sand copies of the Lay were disposed of by the trade ; 
and the author had to perform a task difficult to human 
vanity, when called upon to make the necessary 
deductions from his own merits, in a calm attempt to 
account for his popularity. 

A few additional remarks on the author's literary 
attempts after this period, will be found in the Intro- 
duction to the Poem of Marmion. 

Abbotsford, April, 1830. 



THE 

LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL, 

A POEM; 

IN SIX CANTOS. 



Bum relego, scripsisse pudet ; quia plurima cerno 
Me quoque, qui feci, judice, digna lini 



TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 

CHARLES, EARL OF DALKEITH, 

THIS POEM IS INSCRIBED 
BY THE AUTHOR. 



31 



The Poem, now offered to the Public, is intended 
to illustrate the customs and manners, which anciently 
prevailed on the Borders of England and Scotland. 
The inhabitants, living in a state partly pastoral, and 
partly warlike, and combining habits of constant de- 
predation with the influence of a rude spirit of chiv- 
alry, were often engaged in scenes, highly susceptible 
of poetical ornament. As the description of scenery 
and manners was more the object of the Author 
than a combined and regular narrative, the plan of 
the Ancient Metrical Romance was adopted, which 
allows greater latitude, in this respect, than would 
be consistent with the dignity of a regular Poem. 
The same model offered other facilities, as it permits 
an occasional alteration of measure, which, in some 
degree, authorizes the change of rhythm in the text. 
The machinery also, adopted from popular belief, 
would have seemed puerile in a Poem, which did not 
partake of the rudeness of the old Ballad, or Metrical 
Romance. 

For these reasons, the Poem was put into the mouth 
of an ancient Minstrel, the last of the race, who, as 
he is supposed to have survived the Revolution, might 
have caught somewhat of the refinement of modern 
poetry, without losing the simplicity of his original 
model. The date of the Tale itself is about the mid- 
dle of the sixteenth century, when most of the person- 
ages actually flourished. The time occupied by the 
action is three Nights and Three Days. 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 

CANTO FIRST. 



35 



INTRODUCTION. 



The way was long, the wind was cold, 

The Minstrel was infirm and old; 

His wither'd cheek, and tresses gray, 

Seem'd to have known a better day; 

The harp, his sole remaining joy, 

Was carried by an orphan boy. 

The last of all the Bards was he, 

Who sung of Border chivalry ; 

For, welladay ! their date was fled, 

His tuneful brethren all were dead; 

And he, neglected and oppress'd, 

Wish'd to be with them, and at rest. 

No more on prancing palfrey borne, 

He caroll'd, light as lark at morn ; 

No longer courted and caress'd, 

High placed in hall, a welcome guest, 

He pour'd, to lord and lady gay, 

The unpremeditated lay: 

Old times were changed, old manners gone ; 

A stranger fill'd the Stuart's throne; 

The bigots of the iron time 

Had call'd his harmless art a crime. 

A wandering Harper, scorn'd and poor, 

He begg'd his bread from door to door, 

And tuned, to please a peasant's ear, 

The harp, a king had loved to hear. 



36 LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 

He pass'd where Newark's 1 stately tower 
Looks out from Yarrow's birchen bower: 



1 [" This is a massive square tower, now unroofed and ruinous, 
surrounded by an outward wall, defended by round flanking tur- 
rets. It is most beautifully situated, about three miles from Sel- 
kirk, upon the banks of the Yarrow, a fierce and precipitous 
stream, which unites with the Ettricke about a mile beneath the 
castle. 

" Newark Castle was built by James II. The royal arms, with 
the unicorn, are engraved on a stone in the western side of the 
tower. There was a much more ancient castle in its immediate 
vicinity, called Auldwark, founded, it is said, by Alexander III. 
Both were designed for the royal residence when the King was 
disposed to take his pleasure in the extensive forest of Ettricke. 
Various grants occur in the records of the Privy Seal, bestowing 
the keeping of the Castle of Newark upon different barons. 
There is a popular tradition, that it was once seized, and held out 
by the outlaw Murray, a noted character in song, who only sur- 
rendered Newark upon condition of being made hereditary sheriff 
of the forest. A long ballad, containing an account of this trans- 
action, is preserved in the * Border Minstrelsy.' Upon the mar- 
riage of James IV. with Margaret, sister of Henry VIII., the 
Castle of Newark, with the whole Forest of Ettricke, was 
assigned to her as a part of her jointure lands. But of this she 
could make little advantage ; for, after the death of her husband, 
she is found complaining heavily, that Buccleuch had seized upon 
these lands. Indeed, the office of keeper was latterly held by the 
family of Buccleuch, and with so firm a grasp, that when the 
Forest of Ettricke was disparked, they obtained a grant of the 
Castle of Newark in property. It was within the court-yard of 
this Castle that General Lesly did military execution upon the 
prisoners whom he had taken at the battle of Philiphaugh. The 
castle continued to be an occasional seat of the Buccleuch family 
for more than a century; and here, it is said, the Duchess of 
Monmouth and Buccleuch was brought up. For this reason, 
probably, Mr. Scott has chosen to make it the scene in which the 
Lay of the Last Minstrel' is recited in her presence, and for her 













PRINTED FOR CHAJtUfifl S.FiftANCIS &C9 



INTRODUCTION. 37 

The Minstrel gazed with wishful eye — 
No humbler resting-place was nigh. 
With hesitating step at last, 
The embattled portal arch he pass'd, 
Whose ponderous grate and massy bar 
Had oft roll'd back the tide of war, 
But never closed the iron door 
Against the desolate and poor. 
The Duchess 1 marked his weary pace, 
His timid mien, and reverend face, 
And bade her page the menials tell, 
That they should tend the old man well: 
For she had known adversity, 
Though born in such a high degree; 
In pride of power, in beauty's bloom, 
Had wept o'er Monmouth's bloody tomb ! 

When kindness had his wants supplied, 
And the old man was gratified, 
Began to rise his minstrel pride: 

amusement." — Schetky's Illustrations of the Lay of the Last 
Minstrel. 

It may be added that Bowhill was the favourite residence of 
Lord and Lady Dalkeith, (afterwards Duke and Duchess of Buc- 
cleuch,) at the time when the poem was composed ; the ruins of 
Newark are all but included in the park attached to that modern 
seat of the family ; and Sir Walter Scott, no doubt, was influ- 
enced in his choice of the locality, by the predilection of the 
charming lady who suggested the subject of his "Lay" for the 
scenery of the Yarrow — a beautiful walk on whose banks, lead- 
ing from the house to the old castle, is called, in memory of 
her, the Duchess's Walk. — Ed.] 

1 Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch and Monmouth, representative 
of the ancient Lords of Buccleuch, and widow of the unfortunate 
James, Duke of Monmouth, who was beheaded in 1685. 

Vol. I. 4 



0& LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 

And he began to talk anon, 

Of good Earl Francis, 1 dead and gone, 

And of Earl Walter, 2 rest him, God ! 

A braver ne'er to battle rode ; 

And how full many a tale he knew, 

Of the old warriors of Buccleuch : 

And, would the noble Duchess deign 

To listen to an old man's strain, 

Though stiff his hand, his voice though weak, 

He thought even yet, the sooth to speak, 

That, if she loved the harp to hear, 

He could make music to her ear. 

The humble boon was soon obtain'd ; 
The Aged Minstrel audience gain'd. 
But, when he reach'd the room of state, 
Where she, with all her ladies, sate, 
Perchance he wish'd his boon denied : 
For, when to tune his harp he tried, 
His trembling hand had lost the ease, 
Which marks security to please ; 
And scenes, long past, of joy and pain, 
Came wildering o'er his aged brain — 
He tried to tune his harp in vain ! 
The pitying Duchess praised its chime, 
And gave him heart, and gave him time, 
Till every string's according glee 
Was blended into harmony. 

1 Francis Scott, Earl of Buccleuch, father of the Duchess. 

2 Walter, Earl of Buccleuch, grandfather of the Duchess, ana 
a celebrated warrior. 



INTRODUCTION. 3D 

And then, he said, lie would full fain 

He could recall an ancient strain, 

He never thought to sing again. 

It was not framed for village churls, 

But for high dames and mighty earls; 

He had play'd it to King Charles the Good, 

When he kept court in Holyrood ; 

And much he wish'd, yet fear'd, to try 

The long-forgotten melody. 

Amid the strings his fingers stray'd, 

And an uncertain warbling made, 

And oft he shook his hoary head. 

But when he caught the measure wild, 

The old man raised his face, and smiled ; 

And lighten'd up his faded eye, 

With all a poet's ecstasy ! 

In varying cadence, soft or strong, 

He swept the sounding chords along: 

The present scene, the future lot, 

His toils, his wants, were all forgot : 

Cold diffidence, and age's frost, 

In the full tide of song were lost ; 

Each blank, in faithless memory void, 

The poet's glowing thought supplied ; 

And, while his harp responsive rung, 

'Twas thus the Latest Minstrel sung. 



41 



the 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO FIRST. 



I. 

The feast was over in Branksome tower, 1 

And the Ladye had gone to her secret bower; 

Her bower that was guarded by word and by spell 

Deadly to hear, and deadly to tell — 

Jesu Maria, shield us well ! 

No living wight, save the Ladye alone, 

Had dared to cross the threshold stone. 

II. 

The tables were drawn, it was idlesse all ; 

Knight, nnd page, and household squire, 
Loiter'd through the lofty hall, 

Or crowded round the ample fire : 
The stag-hounds, weary with the chase, 

Lay stretch'd upon the rushy floor, 
And urged, in dreams, the forest race, 

From Teviot-stone to Eskdale-moor. 



1 See Appendix, Note A. 
4* 



42 THE LAV OF Canto I 

III. 

Nine-and-twenty knights of fame 

Hung their shields in Branksome-Hall ; x 
Nine-and-twenty squires of name 

Brought them their steeds to bower from stall; 
Nine-and-twenty yeomen tall 
Waited, duteous, on them all : 
They were all knights of mettle true, 
Kinsmen to the bold Buccleugh. 

IV. 

Ten of them were sheathed in steel, 
With belted sword, and spur on heel : 
They quitted not their harness bright, 
Neither by day, nor yet by night : 

They lay down to rest, 

With corselet laced, 
Pillow'd on buckler cold and hard; 

They carved at the meal 

With gloves of steel, 
And they drank the red wine through the helmet 
barr'd. 

V. 

Ten squires, ten yeomen, mail-clad men, 
Waited the beck of the warders ten; 
Thirty steeds, both fleet and wight, 
Stood saddled in stable day and night, 
Barbed with frontlet of steel, I trow, 
And with Jed wood-axe at saddle-bow; 2 

1 See Appendix, Note B. 

2 u Of a truth," says Froissart, " the Scottish cannot boast great 
skill with the bow, but rather bear axes, with which, in time of 



Oznfo I. THE LAST MINSTREL. 43 

A hundred more fed free in stall : 
Such was the custom of Branksome-HalL 

VI. 

Why do these steeds stand ready dight! 
Why watch these warriors, arm'd, by night ? 
They watch to hear the bloodhound baying; 
They watch, to hear the war-horn braying; 
To see Saint George's red cross streaming; 
To see the midnight beacon gleaming; 
They watch against Southron force and guile, 

Lest Scrope, or Howard, or Percy's powers, 

Threaten Branksome's lordly towers, 
From Warkworth, or Naworth, or merry Carlisle. 1 

VIL 

Such is the custom of Branksome-HalL — 

Many a valiant knight is here; 
But he, the chieftain of them all, 
His sword hangs rusting on the wall, 
Beside his broken spear. 
Bards long shall tell, 
How Lord Walter fell ! 2 
When startled burghers fled, afar, 
The furies of the Border war; 
When the streets of high Dunedin 3 
Saw lances gleam, and falchions redden, 



need, they give heavy strokes," The Jed wood-axe was a sort of 
partisan, used by horsemen, as appears from the arms of Jed- 
burgh, which bear a cavalier mounted, and armed with this wea. 
pon. It is also called a Jedwood or Jeddart staff. 

J See Appendix, Note C. 

8 See Appendix, Note D. 3 Edinburgh. 



f I THE LAY OF Canto I 

And heard the slogan's l deadly yell — 
Then the Chief of Branksorne felL 

VIIL 

Can piety the discord heal, 

Or stanch the death-feud's enmity I 
Can Christian lore, can patriot zeal, 

Can love of blessed charity 1 
No ! vainly to each holy shrine, 

In mutual pilgrimage, they drew; 
Implored, in vain, the grace divine 

For chiefs, their own red falchions slew : 
While Cessford owns the rule of Carr, 

While Ettrick boasts the line of Scott, 
The slaughter'd chiefs, the mortal jar, 
The havoc of the feudal war, 

Shall never, never be forgot ! 2 

1 The war-cry or gathering word of a Border clan. 

2 Among other expedients resorted to for stanching the feud 
betwixt the Scotts and the Kerrs, there was a bond executed in 
1529, between the heads of each clan, binding themselves to 
perform reciprocally the four principal pilgrimages, of Scotland, 
for the benefit of the souls of those of the opposite name who 
had fallen in the quarrel. This indenture is printed in the 
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. i. But either it never 
took effect, or else the feud was renewed shortly afterwards. 

Such pactions were not uncommon in feudal times ; and, as 
might be expected, they were often, as in the present case, void 
of the effect desired. When Sir Walter Mauny, the renowned 
follower of Edward III., had taken the town of Ryol in Gascony, 
he remembered to have heard that his father lay there buried, 
and offered a hundred crowns to any who could show him his 
grave. A very old man appeared before Sir Walter, and informed 
him of the manner of his father's death, and the place of his 
sepulture. It seems that the Lord of Mauny had, at a great 



Canto I. THE LAST MINSTREL. 45 

IX. 

In sorrow o'er Lord Walter's bier 
The warlike foresters had bent; 

And many a flower, and many a tear, 
Old Teviot's maids and matrons lent: 

But o'er her warrior's bloody bier 

The Ladye dropp'd nor flower nor tearl 
Vengeance, deep brooding o'er the slain, 
Had lock'd the source of softer woe; 

And burning pride, and high disdain, 
Forbade the rising tear to flow; 

Until, amid his sorrowing clan, 

Her son lisp'd from the nurse's knee — 

" And if I live to be a man, 

" My father's death revenged shall be !" — 

Then fast the mother's tears did seek 

To dew the infant's kindling cheek. 

X. 

All loose her negligent attire, 
All loose her golden hair, 

tournament, unhorsed, and wounded to the death, a Gascon 
knight, of the house of Mirepoix, whose kinsman was Bishop of 
Cambray. For this deed he was held at feud by the relations 
of the knight, until he agreed to undertake a pilgrimage to the 
shrine of St. James of Compostella, for the benefit of the soul of 
the deceased. But as he returned through the town of Ryol, 
fter accomplishment of his vow, he was beset and treacherously 
slain, by the kindred of the knight whom he had killed. Sir 
Walter, guided by the old man, visited the lowly tomb of his 
father; and, having read the inscription, which was in Latin, he 
caused the body to be raised, and transported to his native city 
of Valenciennes, where masses were, in the days of Froissart, 
duly said for the soul of the unfortunate pilgrim. — Chronycle of 
Faoiss4ET. vol. i. p. 1*23. 



46 THE LAY OF Canlo I. 

Hung Margaret o'er her slaughter'd sire, 

And wept in wild despair. 
But not alone the hitter tear 

Had filial grief supplied ; 
For hopeless love, and anxious fear, 

Had lent their mingled tide: 
Nor in her mother's alter'd eye 
Dared she to look for sympathy. 

Her lover, 'gainst her father's clan, 

With Carr in arms had stood, 1 
When Mathouse-burn to Melrose ran, 

All purple with their blood; 
And well she knew, her mother dread, 
Before Lord Cranstoun she should wed, z 
Would see her on her dying bed. 

1 The family of Ker, Kerr, or Carr, 3 was very powerful on the 
Border. Fynes Morrison remarks, in his Travels, that their in- 
fluence extended from the village of Preston-Grange in Lothian, 
to the limits of England. Cessford Castle, the ancient baronia^ 
residence of the family, is situated near the village of Morebattle, 
within two or three miles of the Cheviot Hills. It has been a 
place of great strength and consequence, but is now ruinous. 
Tradition affirms, that it was founded by Halbert, or Habby Kerr, 
a gigantic warrior, concerning whom many stories are current in 
Roxburghshire. The Duke of Roxburghe represents Kerr of 
Cessford. A distinct and powerful branch of the same name own 
the Marquis of Lothian as their chief. Hence the distinction 
betwixt Kerrs of Cessford and Fairnihirst. 

2 The Cranstouns, Lord Cranstoun, are an ancient Border 
family, whose ehief seat was at Crailing, in Teviotdale. They 
were at this time at feud with the clan of Scott •, for it appears 
that the Lady of Buccleuch, in 1557, beset the Laird of Crans- 
toun, seeking his life. Nevertheless, the same Cranstoun, or 
perhaps his son, was married to a daughter of the same lady. 

s The name is spelt differently by the various families who bear it. Carl 
is selected, not as the most correct,, but as the most poetical reading. 



Canto I. THE LAST MINSTREL. 47 

XL 

Of noble race the Ladye came, 
Her father was a clerk of fame, 

Of Bethune's line of Picardie: 1 
He learn'd the art that none may name, 

In Padua, far beyond the sea. 2 
Men said, he changed his mortal frame 

By feat of magic mystery ; 
For when, in studious mood, he paced 

St. Andrew's cloister'd hall, 
His form no darkening shadow traced 

Upon the sunny wall ! 3 

XII. 

And of his skill, as bards avow, 
He taught that Ladye fair, 

1 See Appendix, Note E. 

2 Padua was long supposed, by the Scottish peasants, to be the 
principal school of necromancy. The Earl of Govvrie, slain at 
Perth, in 1600, pretended, during his studies in Italy, to have ac- 
quired some knowledge of the cabala, by which, he said, he could 
charm snakes, and work other miracles ; and, in particular, could 
produce children without the intercourse of the sexes. — See the 
Examination of Wemyss of Bogie before the Privy Council, con- 
cerning Gowrie's Conspiracy. 

3 The shadow of a necromancer is independent of the sun. 
Glycas informs us, that Simon Magus caused his shadow to go 
before him, making people believe it was an attendant spirit. — 
Hey wood's Hier archie, p. 475. The vulgar conceive, that when 
a class of students have made a certain progress in their mystic 
studies, they are obliged to run through a subterraneous hall, 
where the devil literally catches the hindmost in the race, unless 
he crosses the hall so speedily, that the arch-enemy can only ap- 
prehend his shadow. In the latter case, the person of the sage 
never after throws any shade ; and those, who have thus lost their 
shadow, always prove the best magicians. 



48 THE LAY OF Canto 1. 

Till to her bidding she could bow 

The viewless forms of air. 1 
And now v she sits in secret bower, 
In old Lord David's western tower, 
And listens to a heavy sound. 
That moans the mossy turrets round. 
Is it the roar of Teviot's tide, 
That chafes against the scaur's 2 red side'? 
Is it the wind, that swings the oaks 1 
Is it the echo from the rocks ? 
What may it be, the heavy sound, 
That moans old Branksome's turrets round? 

XIIL 

At the sullen, moaning sound, 

The ban-dogs bay and howl ; 
And, from the turrets round, 

Loud whoops the startled owl. 
In the hall, both squire and knight 

Swore that a storm was near, 
And looked forth to view the night; 

But the night was still and clear ! 

XIV. 
From the sound of Teviot's tide, 
Chafing with the mountain's side, 
From the groan of the wind-swung oak, 
From the sullen echo of the rock, 
From the voice of the coming storm, 

The Ladye knew it well ! 
It was the Spirit of the Flood that spoke, 

And he call'd on the Spirit of the Fell. 

1 See Appendix, Note F. 

2 Scaur, a precipitous bank of earth. 



Canto I. THE LAST MINSTREL. 411 

XV. 

RIVER SPIRIT. 

"Sleep'st thou, brother ?" — 

MOUNTAIN SPIRIT. 

— " Brother, nay — 
On my hills the moon-beams play. 
From Craik-cross to Skelf hill-pen, 
By every rill, in every glen, 

Merry elves their morris pacing, 

To aerial minstrelsy, 
Emerald rings on brown heath tracing, 

Trip it deft and merrily. 
Up, and mark their nimble feet! 
Up, and list their music sweet!" — 

XVI. 

RIVER SPIRIT. 

" Tears of an imprison'd maiden 

Mix with my polluted stream; 
Margaret of Branksome, sorrow-laden, 

Mourns beneath the moon's pale beam. 
Tell me, thou, who view'st the stars, 
When shall cease these feudal jars? 
What shall be the maiden's fate? 
Who shall be the maiden's mate?"— 

XVII. 

MOUNTAIN SPIRIT. 

"Arthur's slow wain his course doth roll, 
In utter darkness round the pole ; 
The Northern Bear lowers black and grim; 
Orion's studded belt is dim ; 
Twinkling faint, and distant far, 
Shimmers through mist each planet star; 
Vol. I. 5 



50 THE LAY OF Canto I. 

Ill may I read their high decree ! 
But no kind influence deign they shower 
On Teviot's tide, and Branksome's tower, 

Till pride be quell'd, and love be free." 

XVIII. 

The unearthly voices ceast, 

And the heavy sound was still ; 
It died on the river's breast, 

It died on the side of the hill. 
But round Lord David's tower 

The sound still floated near; 
For it rung in the Ladye's bower, 

And it rung in the Ladye's ear. 
She raised her stately head, 

And her heart throbb'd high with pride: — 
"Your mountains shall bend, 
And your streams ascend, 

Ere Margaret be our foeman's bride ! " 

XIX. 

The Ladye sought the lofty hall, 

Where many a bold retainer lay, 
And, with jocund din, among them all, 

Her son pursued his infant play. 
A fancied moss-trooper, 1 the boy 

The truncheon of a spear bestrode, 
And round the hall, right merrily, 

In mimic foray 2 rode. 
Even bearded knights, in arms grown old, 

Share in his frolic gambols bore, 

1 See Appendix, Note G. 2 Foray, a predatory inroad. 



Canto I. THE LAST MINSTREL. 51 

Albeit their hearts of rugged mould, 
Were stubborn as the steel they wore. 

For the grey warriors prophesied, 
How the brave boy, in future war, 

Should tame the Unicorn's pride, 1 
Exalt the Crescent and the Star. 2 

XX. 

The Ladye forgot her purpose high, 

One moment, and no more ; 
One moment gazed with a mother's eye, 

As she paused at the arched door: 
Then from amid the armed train, 
She call'd to her William of Deloraine. 3 

XXI. 

A stark moss-trooping Scott was he, 
As e'er couch'd Border lance by knee : 
Through Solway sands, through Tarras moss, 
Blindfold he knew the paths to cross; 
By wily turns, by desperate bounds, 
Had baffled Percy's best blood-hounds. 1 
In Eske, or Liddel, fords were none, 
But he would ride them, one by one; 

1 [This line, of which the metre appears defective, would have 
its full complement of feet according to the pronunciation of the 
poet himself — as all who were familiar with his utterance of the 
letter r will bear testimony. — Ed.] 

2 The arms of the Kerrs of Cessford were, Vert on a cheveron, 
betwixt three unicorns' heads erased argent, three mullets sable , 
crest, a unicorn's head erased proper. The Scotts of Buccleuch 
bore, Or, on a bend azure ; a star of six points betwixt two cres- 
cents of the first. 

3 See Appendix, Note H. 4 See Appendix, Note L 



52 THE LAY OF Canto I. 

Alike to him was time or tide, 
December's snow, or July's pride; 
Alike to him was tide or time, 
Moonless midnight, or matin prime: 
Steady of heart, and stout of hand, 
As ever drove prey from Cumberland ; 
Five times outlawed had he been, 
By England's King, and Scotland's Queen. 

XXII. 

" Sir William of Deloraine, good at need, 
Mount thee on the wightest steed; 
Spare not to spur, nor stint to ride, 
Until thou come to fair Tweedside; 
And in Melrose's holy pile 
Seek thou the Monk of St. Mary's aisle. 

Greet the Father well from me; 
Say that the fated hour is come, 

And to-night he shall watch with thee, 
To win the treasure of the tomb : 
For this will be St. Michael's night, 
And, though stars be dim, the moon is bright 
And .the Cross, of bloody red, 
Will point to the grave of the mighty dead. 

XXIII. 

" What he gives thee, see thou keep ; 

Stay not thou for food or sleep: 

Be it scroll, or be it book, 

Into it, Knight, thou must not look ; 

If thou readest, thou art lorn ! 

Better had'st thou ne'er been born." — 



Canlo I. THE LAST MINSTREL. 53 

XXIV. 

" O swiftly can speed my dapple-grey steed, 

Which drinks of the Teviot clear; 
Ere hreak of day," the Warrior 'gan say, 

" Again will I be here : 
And safer by none may thy errand be done, 

Than, noble dame, by me ; 
Letter nor line know I never a one, 

Were 't my neck- verse at Hairibee." ! 

XXV. 

Soon in his saddle sate he fast, 
And soon the steep descent he past, 
Soon cross'd the sounding barbican, 2 
And soon the Teviot side he won. 
Eastward the wooded path he rode, 
Green hazels o'er his basnet nod ; 
He pass'd the Peel 3 of Goldiland, 
And cross'd old Borthwick's roaring strand; 
Dimly he view'd the Moat-hill's mound, 
Where Druid shades still flitted round: 4 
In Hawick twinkled many a light ; 
Behind him soon they set in night ; 

1 Hairibee, the place of executing- the Border marauders at 
Carlisle. The neck-verse is the beginning of the 51st Psalm, 
Miserere mei, &c, anciently read by criminals claiming the 
benefit of clergy. 

2 Barbican, the defence of the outer gate of a feudal castle. 

3 Peel, a Border tower. 

4 This is a round artificial mount near Hawick, which, from its 
name, (33M. Ang. Sax. Concilium, Conventus,) was probably 
anciently used as a place for assembling a national council of the 
adjacent tribes. There are many such mounds in Scotland, and 
they are sometimes, but rarely, of a square form. 

C 5* 



54 THE LAY OF Canto I 

And soon he spurr'd his courser keen 
Beneath the tower of Hazeldean. 1 

XXVI. 

The clattering hoofs the watchmen mark ; — 
" Stand, ho ! thou courier of the dark." — 
" For Branksome, ho !" the knight rejoin'd, 
And left the friendly tower behind. 
He turn'd him now from Teviotside, 

And, guided by the tinkling rill, 
Northward the dark ascent did ride, 

And gained the moor at Horsliehill ; 
Broad on the left before him lay, 
For many a mile, the Roman way. 2 

_ XXVII. 

A moment now he slack'd his speed, 
A moment breathed his panting steed ; 
Drew saddle-girth and corslet-band, 
And loosen'd in the sheath his brand. 
On Minto-crags the moonbeams glint, 3 
Where Barnhill hew'd his bed of flint; 
Who flung his outlaw'd limbs to rest, 
Where falcons hang their giddy nest, 
Mid cliffs, from whence his eagle eye 
For many a league his prey could spy ; 

J The estate of Hazeldean, corruptly Hassendean, belonged 
formerly to a family of Scotts, thus commemorated by Satch- 
ells:— 

" Hassendean came without a call, 
The ancientest house among them all." 

2 An ancient Roman road, crossing through part of Roxburgh 
shire. 

3 See Appendix, Note K. 



Canto 1. THE LAST MINSTREL. 55 

Clifls, doubling, on their echoes borne, 

The terrors of the robber's horn ; 

Clifls, which, for many a later year, 

The warbling Doric reed shall hear, 

When some sad swain shall teach the grove, 

Ambition is no cure for love ! 

XXVIII. 

Unchallenged, thence pass'd Deloraine, 
To ancient Riddel's fair domain, 1 

Where Aill, from mountains freed, 
Down from the lakes did raving come ; 
Each wave was crested with tawny foam, 

Like the mane of a chestnut steed. 
In vain ! no torrent, deep or broad, 
Might bar the bold moss-trooper's road. 

XXIX. 

At the first plunge the horse sunk low, 

And the water broke o'er the saddlebow ; 

Above the foaming tide, I ween, 

Scarce half the charger's neck was seen ; 

For he was barded 2 from counter to tail, 

And the rider was armed complete in mail ; 

Never heavier man and horse 

Stemm'd a midnight torrent's force. 

The warrior's very plume, I say, 

Was daggled by the dashing spray : 

Yet, through good heart, and Our Ladye's grace, 

At length he gain'd the landing place. 

1 See Appendix, Note L. 

2 Barded, or barbed, — applied to a horse accoutred with defen 
Bive armour. 



56 THE LAY OF Canlo I 

XXX. 

Now Bowden Moor the march-man won, 

And sternly shook his plumed head, 
As glanced his eye o'er Halidon ; l 

For on his soul the slaughter red 
Of that unhallow'd morn arose, 
When first the Scott and Carr were foes; 
When royal James beheld the fray, 
Prize to the victor of the day ; 
When Home and Douglas, in the van, 
Bore down Buccleuch's retiring clan, 
Till gallant Cessford's heart-blood dear 
Reek'd on dark Elliot's Border spear. 

XXXI. 

In bitter mood he spurred fast, 

And soon the hated heath was past; 

And far beneath, in lustre wan, 

Old Melros' rose, and fair Tweed ran : 

Like some tall rock with lichens gray, 

Seem'd dimly huge, the dark Abbaye. 

When Hawick he pass'd, had curfew rung, 

Now midnight lauds 2 were in Melrose sung. 

The sound, upon the fitful gale, 

In solemn wise did rise and fail, 

Like that wild harp,j whose magic tone 

Is waken'd by the winds alone. 



4 



v( 



1 Halidon was an ancient seat of the Kerrs of Cessford, now 
demolished. About a quarter of a mile to the northward lay the 
field of battle betwixt Buccleuch and Angus, which is called to 
this day the Skirmish Field. — See Appendix, Note C. 

2 Lauds, the midnight service of the Catholic church. 



'Canto I. THE LAST MINSTREL. 57 

But when Melrose he reach'd, 'twas silence all; 
He meetly stabled his steed in stall, 
And sought the convent's lonely wall. 1 



Here paused the harp ; and with its swell 
The Master's fire and courage fell: 
Dejectedly, and low, he bow'd, 
And, gazing timid on the crowd, 
He seem'd to seek, in every eye, 
If they approved his minstrelsy; 
And, diffident of present praise, 
Somewhat he spoke of former days, 

1 The ancient and beautiful monastery of Melrose was founded 
by King David I. Its ruins afford the finest specimen of Gothic 
architecture and Gothic sculpture which Scotland can boast. The 
stone of which it is built, though it has resisted the weather for 
so many ages, retains perfect sharpness, so that even the most 
minute ornaments seem as entire as when newly wrought. In 
some of the cloisters, as is hinted in the next Canto, there are 
representations of flowers, vegetables, &c. carved in stone, with 
accuracy and precision so delicate, that we almost distrust our 
senses, when we consider the difficulty of subjecting so hard a 
substance to such intricate and exquisite modulation. This 
superb convent was dedicated to St. Mary, and the monks were 
of the Cistertian order. At the time of the Reformation, they 
shared in the general reproach of sensuality and irregularity, 
thrown upon the Roman churchmen. The old words of Gala- 
shiels, a favourite Scottish air, ran thus : — 

O the monks of Melrose made gude kale 2 

On Fridays when they fasted : 
They wanted neither beef nor ale, 

As long as their neighbours' lasted, 
a Kale, Bruth. 



58 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. Canto I. 

And how old age, and wand'ring long, 

Had done his hand and harp some wrong. 

The Duchess, and her daughters fair, 

And every gentle lady there, 

Each after each, in due degree, 

(rave praises to his melody ; 

His hand was true, his voice was clear, 

And much they long'd the rest to hear. 

Encouraged thus, the Aged Man, 

After meet rest, again began. 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 

CANTO SECOND. 



til 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO SECOND, 



I. 

If thou would'st view fair Melrose aright, 

Go visit it by the pale moonlight; 

For the gay beams of lightsome day 

Gild, but to flout, the ruins grey. 

When the broken arches are black in night, 

And each shafted oriel glimmers white ; 

When the cold light's uncertain shower 

Streams on the ruin'd central tower; 

When buttress and buttress, alternately, 

Seem framed of ebon and ivory; 

When silver edges the imagery, 

And the scrolls that teach thee to live and die ; l 

When distant Tweed is heard to rave, 

And the owlet to hoot o'er the dead man's grave, 

1 The buttresses, ranged along the sides of the ruins of Melrose 
Abbey, are, according to the Gothic style, richly carved and fret- 
ted, containing niches for the statues of saints, and labelled with 
scrolls, bearing appropriate texts of Scripture. Most of these 
statues have been demolished. 

Vol. I. (3 



62 THE LAY OF Canto I) 

Then go — but go alone the while— 
Then view St. David's ruin'd pile; 1 
And, home returning, soothly swear, 
Was never scene so sad and fair ! 

II. 

Short halt did Deloraine make there; 
Little reck'd he of the scene so fair : 
With dagger's hilt, on the wicket strong, 
He struck full loud, and struck full long. 
The porter hurried to the gate — 
" Who knocks so loud, and knocks so late ?" — 
" From Branksome I," the warrior cried ; 
And straight the wicket open'd wide : 
For Branksome's Chiefs had in battle stood. 

To fence the rights of fair Melrose ; 
And lands and livings, many a rood, 

Had gifted the shrine for their souls' repose. 2 

III. 

Bold Deloraine his errand said; 
The porter bent his humble head; 
With torch in hand, and feet unshod, 
And noiseless step, the path he trod : 

1 David I. of Scotland, purchased the reputation of sanctity, by 
founding, and liberally endowing, not only the monastery of 
Melrose, but those of Kelso, Jedburgh, and many others ; which 
led to the well-known observation of his successor, that he was a 
sore saint for the crown. 

2 The Buccleuch family were great benefactors to the Abbey 
" Melrose. As early as the reign of Robert II., Robert Scott, 
Won of Murdieston and Rankleburn, (now Bfaccleuch,) gave to 

"he monks the lands of Hinkery, in Ettrick Forest, pro salute 
.nimce sua. — Chartulary of Melrose, 28th May, 1415. 



V&nlO II. THE LAST MINSTREL. 63 

The arched cloister, far and wide, 

Rang to the warriors clanking stride, 

Till, stooping low his lofty crest, 

He enter'd the cell of the ancient priest, 

And lifted his barred aventayle, 1 

To hail the monk of St. Mary's aisle, 

IV. 

" The Ladye of Branksome greets thee by me; 

Says, that the fated hour is come, 
And that to-night I shall watch with thee, 

To win the treasure of the tomb." — 
From sackcloth couch the Monk arose, 

With toil his stifFen'd limbs he rear'd ; 
A hundred years had flung their snows 

On his thin locks and floating beard. 

V. 

And strangely on the Knight looked he, 

And his blue eyes gleam'd wild and wide: 
* And, darest thou, Warrior ! seek to see 

What heaven and hell alike would hide? 
My breast, in belt of iron pent, 

With shirt of hair and scourge of thorn ; 
For threescore years, in penance spent, 

My knees those flinty stones have worn; 
Yet all too little to atone 
For knowing what should ne'er be known. 

Would'st thou thy every future year 
In ceaseless prayer and penance drie, 

Yet wait thy latter end with fear — 
Then, daring Warrior, follow me !" — 

1 Aventayle, visor of the helmet 



G t TJIE LAY OF Canto II 

VI. 

"Penance, father, will I none; 

Prayer know I hardly one; 

For mass or prayer can I rarely tarry. 

Save to patter an Ave Mary, 

When I ride on a Border foray. 1 

Other prayer can I none ; 

So speed me my errand, and let me be gone."* — 

VIL 

Again on the Knight look'd the Churchman old, 

And again he sighed heavily; 
For he had himself been a warrior bold, 

And fought in Spain and Italy. 
And he thought on the days that were long since "6y, 
When his limbs were strong, and his courage was 

high :— 
Now, slow and faint, he led the way, 
Where, cloistered round, the garden lay ; 
The pillared arches were over their head, 
And beneath their feet were the bones of the dead. 2 



1 The Borderers were, as may "be supposed, very ignorant about 
religious matters. Colville, in his Paranesis, or Admonitioii^. 
states, that the reformed divines were so far from undertaking- 
distant journeys to- convert the Heathen, "as I wold wis at God 
that ye woH only go bot to the Hieknds and Borders of our own 
realm, to gain our awin countreymen, who, for lack of preching- 
and ministration of the sacraments, must, with tyme, becum 
either infidells, or atheists." But we learn, from Lesley, that, 
however deficient in real religion, they regularly told their beads, 
and never with more zeal than when going on a plundering 
expedition. 

2 The cloisters were frequently used as places of sepulture. Are 
instance occurs in Dryburgh Abbey, where the cloister 1ms an 
inscription, bearing, Hicjacet fratet Arekibaldu&* 



Canto II. THE LAST MINSTREL. 65 

VIII. 

Spreading herbs, and flowerets bright, 
Glisten'd with the dew of night ; 
Nor herb, nor floweret, glisten'd there, 
But was carved in the cloister-arches as fair. 
The Monk gazed long on the lovely moon, 

Then into the night he looked forth; 
And red and bright the streamers light 

Were dancing in the glowing north. 
So had he seen, in fair Castile, 

The youth in glittering squadrons start; 1 
Sudden the flying jennet wheel, 
And hurl the unexpected dart. 
He knew, by the streamers that shot so bright, 
That spirits were riding the northern light. 

IX. 

By a steel-clenched postern door, 
They enter'd now the chancel tall ; 

The darken'd roof rose high aloof 
On pillars lofty and light and small : 

The key -stone, that lock'd each ribbed aisle, 

Was a fleur-de-lys, or a quartre-feuille ; 

The corbells 2 were carved grotesque and grim; 
/^*And the pillars, with cluster'd shafts so trim, 

With base and with capital flourish'd around, 

Seem'd bundles of lances which garlands had bound. 

1 See Appendix, Note M. 

3 Corbells, the projections from which the arches spring, usually 
cut in a fantastic face, or mask. 
6* 



66 THE LAV OF Canto II 

X. 
Full many a scutcheon and banner riven, 
Shook to the cold night-wind of heaven. 

Around the screened altar's pale ; 
And there the dying lamps did burn, 
^Before thy low and lonely urn, 
O gallant Chief of Otterburne I 1 

And thine, dark Knight of Liddesdale! 2 
O fading honours of the dead I 
O high ambition^ lowly laid ! 

XL 

The moon on the east oriel shone* 
Through slender shafts of shapely stone, 

1 The famous and desperate battle of Otterburne was fought 
15th August, 1388, betwixt Henry Percy, called Hotspur, and 
James, Earl of Douglas. Both these renowned champions were 
at the head of a chosen body of troops, and they were rivals in 
military fame; so that Froissart affirms, " Of all the battayles 
and encounteryngs that I have made mencion of here before in 
all this hystory, great or smalle, this battayle that I treat of nowe 
was one of the sorest and best foughten, without cowards or faynte 
hertes : for there was neyther knyghte nor squyer but that dyde 
his devoyre, and foughte hande to hande. This batayle was lyke 
the batayle of Becherell, the which was valiauntly fought and 
endured." The issue of the conflict is well known : — Percy was 
made prisoner, and the Scots won the day, dearly purchased by 
the death of their gallant general, the Earl of Douglas, who was 
slain in the action. He was buried at Melrose, beneath the high 
altar. "His obsequye was done reverently, and on his bodye 
layde a tombe of stone, and his baner hangyng over hym." — 
Froissart, vol. ii. p. 165. 

2 See Appendix, Note N. 

3 It is impossible to conceive a more beautiful specimen of the 
lightness and elegance of Gothic architecture, when in its purity, 



Canto 11. THE LAST MINSTREL. 67 

By foliaged tracery combined ; 
Thou would'st have thought some fairy's hand 
'Twixt poplars straight the ozier wand, 

In many a freakish knot, had twined?' 
Then framed a spell, when the work was done, 
And changed the willow-wreaths to stone. 
The silver light, so pale and faint, 
Show'd many a prophet, and many a saint, 

Whose image on the glass was dyed ; 
Full in the midst, his Cross of Red 
Triumphant Michael brandished, 

And trampled the Apostate's pride. 
The moon-beam kiss'd the holy pane, 
And threw on the pavement a bloody stain. 

XII. 

They sate them down on a marble stone, 1 — 
(A Scottish monarch slept below ;) 

than the eastern window of Melrose Abbey. Sir James Hall of 
Dunglas, Bart, has, with great ingenuity and plausibility, traced 
the Gothic order through its various forms and seemingly eccen- 
tric ornaments, to an architectural imitation of wicker-work ; of 
which, as we learn from some of the legends, the earliest Chris- 
tian churches were constructed. In such an edifice, the original 
of the clustered pillars is traced to a set of round posts, begirt 
with slender rods of willow, whose loose summits were brought 
to meet from all quarters, and bound together artificially, so as 
to produce the frame-work of the roof: and the tracery of our 
Gothic windows is displayed in the meeting and interlacing of 
rods and hoops, affording an inexhaustible variety of beautiful 
forms of open work. This ingenious system is alluded to in the 
romance. Sir James Hall's Essay on Gothic Architecture is 
published in The Edinburgh Philosophical Transactions. 

1 A large marble stone, in the chancel of Melrose, is pointed 
out as the monument of Alexander II., one of the greatest of our 
early kings ; others say, it is the resting-place of Waldeve, one 
of the early abbots, who died in the odour of sanctity. 

D 



l\8 THE LAY OF Canto II 

Thus spoke the Monk, in solemn tone : — 

" I was not always a man of woe ; 
For Paynim countries I have trod, 
And fought beneath the Cross of God : 
Now, strange to my eyes thine arms appear, 
And their iron clang sounds strange to my ear. 

XIII. 

" In these far climes it was my lot 
To meet the wondrous Michael Scott ; l 

A wizard, of such dreaded fame, 
That when, in Salamanca's cave, 2 
Him listed his magic wand to wave, 

The bells would ring in Notre Dame ! 3 
Some of his skill he taught to me; 
And, Warrior, I could say to thee 
The words that cleft Eildon hills in three,* 

And bridled the Tweed with a curb of stone: 
But to speak them were a deadly sin ; 
And for having but thought them my heart within, 

A treble penance must be done. 

1 See Appendix, Note O. 2 Ibid. Note P. 

3 Ibid. Note Q. 

4 Michael Scott was, once upon a time, much embarrassed by 
a spirit, for whom he was under the necessity of finding constant 
employment. He commanded him to build a cauld, or dam-head, 
across the Tweed at Kelso; it was accomplished in one night, 
and still does honour to the infernal architect. Michael next 
ordered, that Eildon hill, which was then a uniform cone, should 
be divided into three. Another right was sufficient to part its 
summit into the three picturesque peaks which it now bears. At 
length the enchanter conquered this indefatigable demon, by 
employing him in the hopeless and endless task of making ropes 
out of sea-sand. 



Canto II. TUB LAST MINSTREL. 613 

XIV. 
"When Michael lay on his dying bed, 
His conscience was awakened : 
He bethought him of his sinful deed, 
And he gave me a sign to come with speed : 
I was in Spain when the morning rose, 
But I stood by his bed ere evening close. 
The words may not again be said, 
That he spoke to me, on death-bed laid; 
They would rend this Abbaye's massy nave, 
And pile it in heaps above his grave. 

XV. 

"I swore to bury his Mighty Book, 

That never mortal might therein look ; 

And never to tell where it was hid, 

Save at his Chief of Branksome's need : 

And when that need was past and o'er, 

Again the volume to restore. 

I buried him on St. Michael's night, 

When the bell toll'd one, and the moon was bright, 

And I dug his chamber among the dead, 

When the floor of the chancel was stained red, 

That his patron's cross might over him wave, 

And scare the fiends from the Wizard's grave. 

XVI. 

" It was a night of woe and dread, 

When Michael in the tomb I laid! 

Strange sounds along the chancel pass'd, 

The banners waved without a blast" — 

—Still spoke the Monk, when the bell toll'd one!— 

I tell you, that a braver man 



70 THE LAY OF Canto II 

Than William of Deloraine, good at need, 
Against a foe ne'er spurr'd a steed ; 
Yet somewhat was he chill'd with dread, 
And his hair did bristle upon his head. 

XVII. 

" Lo, Warrior ! now, the Cross of Red 

Points to the grave of the mighty dead ; 

Within it burns a wondrous light, 

To chase the spirits that love the night: 

That lamp shall burn unquenchably, 

Until the eternal doom shall be." — l 

Slow moved the Monk to the broad flag-stone, 

Which the bloody Cross was traced upon : 

He pointed to a secret nook ; 

An iron bar the Warrior took ; 

And the Monk made a sign with his withered hand, 

The grave's huge portal to expand. 

XVIII. 
With beating heart to the task he went; 
His sinewy frame o'er the grave-stone bent; 
With bar of iron heaved amain, 
Till the toil-drops fell from his brows, like rain. 
It was by dint of passing strength, 
That he moved the massy stone at length. 
I would you had been there, to see 
J How the light broke forth so gloriously, 
Stream'd upward to the chancel roof, 
And through the galleries far aloof! 
No earthly flame blazed e'er so bright : 
^ It shone like heaven's own blessed light, 

1 See Appendix, Note R. 



Canto II. THE LAST MINSTREL. 71 

And, issuing from the tomb, 
Show'd the Monk's cowl, and visage pale, 
Danced on the dark-brow'd Warrior's mail, 

And kiss'd his waving plume. 

XIX. 

Before their eyes the Wizard lay, 
As if he had not been dead a day. 
His hoary beard in silver roll'd, 
He seem'd some seventy winters old ; 
A palmer's amice wrapp'd him round, 
With a wrought Spanish baldric bound, 
* — Like a pilgrim from beyond the sea : 
His left hand held his Book of Might; 
A silver cross was in his right; 

The lamp was placed beside his knee: 
High and majestic was his look, 
At which the fellest fiends had shook, 
And all unruffled was his face : 
They trusted his soul had gotten grace. 

XX. 

Often had William of Deloraine 

Rode through the battle's bloody plain, 

And trampled down the warriors slain, 

And neither knew remorse nor awe ; 

Yet now remorse and awe he own'd ; 

His breath came thick, his head swam round, 

When this strange scene of death he saw. 

Bewilder'd and unnerved he stood, 

And the priest pray'd fervently and loud : 

With eyes averted prayed he; 

He might not endure the sight to see, 

Of the man he had loved so brotherly. 



72 THE LAY OF Canto II 

XXI. 

And when the priest his death-prayer had pray'd, 

Thus unto Deloraine he said: — 

" Now, speed thee what thou hast to do, 

Or, Warrior, we may dearly rue; 

For those, thou may'st not look upon, 

Are gathering fast round the yawning stone !" — 

Then Deloraine, in terror, took 

From the cold hand the Mighty Book, 

With iron clasp'd, and with iron bound: 

He thought, as he took it, the dead man frown'd ; l 

But the glare of the sepulchral light, 

Perchance, had dazzled the Warrior's sight. 

XXII. 

When the huge stone sunk o'er the tomb, 

The night return'd in double gloom ; 

For the moon had gone down, and the stars were few; 

And, as the Knight and Priest withdrew, 

With wavering steps and dizzy brain, 

They hardly might the postern gain. 

'Tis said, as through the aisles they pass'd, 

They heard strange noises on the blast; 

1 William of Deloraine might be strengthened in this belief by 
the well-known story of the Cid Ruy Diaz. When the body of' 
that famous Christian champion was sitting in state by the high 
altar of the cathedral church of Toledo, where it remained for 
ten years, a certain malicious Jew attempted to pull him by the 
beard ; but he had no sooner touched the formidable whiskers, 
than the corpse started up, and half unsheathed his sword. The 
Israelite fled ; and so permanent was the effect of his terror, that 
he became Christian. — Heywood's Hierarchie, p. 470, quoted 
from Sebastian Cobarruvias Crozee. 



I •unto 11. THE LAST MINSTREL. 73 

And through the cloister-galleries small, 
Which at mid-height thread the chancel wall, 
/ Loud sobs, and laughter louder, ran, 
^\And voices unlike the voice of man; 
As if the fiends kept holiday, 
Because these spells were brought to day. 
I cannot tell how the truth may be; 
I say the tale as 'twas said to me, 

XXIII. 

f< Now, hie thee hence," the Father said, 
"And when we are on death-bed laid, 
O may our dear Ladye, and sweet St. John, 
Forgive our souls for the deed we have done !" — 

The Monk return'd him to his cell, 

And many a prayer and penance sped; 

When the convent met at the noontide bell — 
The Monk of St. Mary's aisle was dead ! 
Before the cross was the body laid, 
With hands clasp'd fast, as if still he pray'd. 

XXIV. 

The Knight breathed free in the morning wind, 

And strove his hardihood to find : 

He was glad when he pass'd the tombstones grey, 

Which girdle round the fair Abbaye ; 
S / For the mystic Book, to his bosom prest, 
^-Felt like a load upon his breast; 
/And his joints, with nerves of iron twined, 
( Shook, like the aspen leaves in wind. 

Full fain was he when the dawn of day 

Began to brighten Cheviot grey ; 

He joy'd to see the cheerful light, 

And he said Ave Marv, as well as he might. 
Vor.. I. — 7 



v/ 



7i THE LAY Of Canto II 

XXV. 

The sun had brighten'd Cheviot grey, 

The sun had brighten'd the Carter's 1 side; 

And soon beneath the rising day- 
Smiled Branksome Towers and Teviot's tide. 

The wild birds told their warbling tale, 
And waken'd every flower that blows; 

And peeped forth the violet pale, 

And spread her breast the mountain rose. 

And lovelier than the rose so red, 
Yet paler than the violet pale, 

She early left her sleepless bed, 
The fairest maid of Teviotdale. 

XXVI. 

Why does- fair Margaret so early awake, 

And don her kirtle so hastilie ; 
And the silken knots, which in hurry she would make. 

Why tremble her slender fingers to tie ; 
Why does she stop, and look often around, 

As she glides down the secret stair; 
And why does she pat the shaggy blood-hound, 

As he rouses him up from his lair ; 
And, though she passes the postern alone, 
Why is not the watchman's bugle blown? 

XXVII. 

The ladye steps in doubt and dread, 
Lest her watchful mother hear her tread; 
The ladye caresses the rough blood-hound, 
Lest his voice should waken the castle round; 

1 A mountain on the Border of England, above Jedburgh. 



'■'■"Ho II. THE LAST MINSTREL. 75 

The watchman's bugle is not blown, 

For he was her foster-father's son ; 

And she glides through the greenwood at dawn of 

light, 
To meet Baron Henry, her own true knight 

XXVIII. 

The Knight and ladye fair are met, 

And under the hawthorn's boughs are set. 

A fairer pair were never seen 

To meet beneath the hawthorn green. 

He was stately, and young, and tall ; 

Dreaded in battle, and loved in hall : 

And she, when love, scarce told, scarce hid, 

Lent to her cheek a livelier red ; 

When the half sigh her swelling breast 

Against the silken ribbon prest ; 

When her blue eyes their secret told, 

Though shaded by her locks of gold — 

Where would you find the peerless fair, 

With Margaret of Branksome might compare? 

XXIX. 

And now, fair dames, methinks I see 
You listening to my minstrelsy ; 
Your waving locks ye backward throw, 
And sidelong bend your necks of snow : 
Ye ween to hear a melting tale, 
Of two true lovers in a dale; 

And how the Knight, with tender fire, 
To paint his faithful passion strove ; 

Swore he might at her feet expire, 
But never, never cease to love; 



3 THE LAY OF Canto 11. 

And how she hlush'd, and how she sigh'd, 
And, half consenting, half denied, 
And said that she would die a maid; — 
Yet, might the bloody feud be stay'd, 
Henry of Cranstoun, and only he, 
Margaret of Branksome's choice should be. 

XXX. 

Alas ! fair dames, your hopes are vain ! 
My harp has lost the enchanting strain ; 

Its lightness would my age reprove : 
My hairs are grey, my limbs are old, 
My heart is dead, my veins are cold: 

I may not, must not, sing of love. 

xixi. 

Beneath an oak, moss'd o'er by eld, 
The Baion's Dwarf his courser held, 1 

And held his crested helm and spear: 
That Dwarf was scarce an earthly man, 
If the tales were true that of him ran 

Through all the Border, far and near. 
'Twas said, when the Baron a-hunting rode 
Through Reedsdale's glens, but rarely trod, 

He heard a voice cry, " Lost ! lost ! lost !" 
I And, like tennis-ball by racket toss'd, 

°**"A leap, of thirty {eet and three, 

rMade from the gorse this elfin shape, 
Distorted like some dwarfish ape, 

And lighted at Lord Cranstoun's knee. 
Lord Cranstoun was some whit dismay'd; 
'Tis said that five good miles he rade, 

1 See Appendix, Note S. 



Canto II. THE LAST MINSTREL. 77 

To rid him of his company; 
But where he rode one mile, the Dwarf ran four, 
And the Dwarf was first at the castle door. 

XXXII. 

Use lessens marvel, it is said: 
This elvish Dwarf with the Baron staid; 
Little he ate, and less he spoke, 
Nor mingled with the menial flock: 
And oft apart his arms he toss'd, 
And often mutter'd "Lost! lost! lost!" 
He was waspish, arch, and litherlie, 1 
But well Lord Cranstoun served he: 



1 [The idea of the imp domesticating himself with the first 
person he met, and subjecting himself to that one's authority, is 
perfectly consonant to old opinions. Ben Jonson, in his play of 
" The Devil is an Ass," has founded the leading incident of that 
comedy upon this article of the popular creed. A fiend, styled 
Pug, is ambitious of figuring in the world, and petitions his 
superior for permission to exhibit himself upon earth. The devil 
grants him a day-rule, but clogs it with this condition, — 

"Satan — Only thus more, I bind you 
To serve the first man that you meet; and him 
I'll show you now ; observe him, follow him ; 
But, once engaged, there you must stay and fir." 

It is observable that in the same play, Pug alludes to the spare 
ness of his diet. Mr. Scott's goblin, though " waspish, arch, and 
litherlie," proves a faithful and honest retainer to the lord, into 
whose service he had introduced himself. This sort of inconsis- 
tency seems also to form a prominent part of the diabolic character. 
Thus, in the romances of the Round Table, we find Merlin, the 
6on of a devil, exerting himself most zealously in the cause of 
virtue and of religion, the friend and counsellor of King Arthur, 
the chastiser of wrongs, and the scourge of the infidels.] 
7* 



78 THE LAY OF Canto II 

And he of his service was full fain; 
For once he had been ta'en or slain, 

An it had not been for his ministry. 
All between Home and Hermitage, 
Talk'd of Lord Cranstoun's Goblin-Page. 

XXXIII. 

For the Baron went on Pilgrimage, 
And took with him this elvish Page, 

To Mary's Chapel of the Lowes: 
For there, beside our Ladye's lake, 
An offering he had sworn to make, 

And he would pay his vows. 
But the Ladye of Branksome gather'd a band 
Of the best that would ride at her command: 1 

The trysting place was Newark Lee. 
Wat of Harden came thither amain, 
And thither came John of Thirlestane, 
And thither came William of Deloraine; 
--They were three hundred spears and three. 
Through Douglas-burn, up Yarrow stream, 
Their horses prance, their lances gleam. 
They came to St. Mary's lake ere day ; 
But the chapel was void, and the Baron away. 
They burn'd the chapel for very rage, 
And cursed Lord Cranstoun's Goblin-Page. 

XXXIV. 

And now, in Branksome's good green wood, 
As under the aged oak he stood, 
The Baron's courser pricks his ears, 
As if a distant noise he hears. 

1 See Appendix, Note T. 



Canto II. THE LAST MINSTREL. 79 

The Dwarf waves his long lean arm on high, 
And signs to the lovers to part and fly; 
No time was then to vow or sigh. 
Fair Margaret, through the hazel grove, 
Flew like the startled cushat-dove: 1 
The Dwarf the stirrup held and rein; 
Vaulted the Knight on his steed amain, 
And, pondering deep that morning's scene, 
Rode eastward through the hawthorns green. 



( 



While thus he pour'd the lengthen'd tale, 
The Minstrel's voice began to fail : • 
Full slyly smiled the observant page, 
And gave the wither'd hand of age 
A goblet, crown'd with mighty wine, 
The blood of Velez' scorched vine. 
He raised the silver cup on high, 
And, while the big drop fill'd his eye, 
Pray'd God to bless the Duchess long, 
And all who cheer'd a son of song. 
The attending maidens smiled to see 
How long, how deep, how zealously, 
The precious juice the Minstrel quafPd ; 
And he, embolden'd by the draught, 
Look'd gaily back to them, and laugh'd. 
The cordial nectar of the bowl 
Swell'd his old veins, and cheer'd his soul; 
A lighter, livelier prelude ran, 
Ere thus his tale again began. 



Wood pigeon 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO THIRD 



83 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO THIRD. 



I. 

And said I that my limbs were old, 
And said I that my blood was cold, 
And that my kindly fire was fled, 
And my poor wither'd heart was dead, 

And that I might not sing of love? — 
How could I to the dearest theme, 
That ever warm'd a minstrel's dream, 

So foul, so false a recreant prove ! 
How could I name love's very name, 
Nor wake my heart to notes of flame ! 

II. 

In peace, Love tunes the shepherd's reed; 

In war, he mounts the warrior's steed; 

In halls, in gay attire is seen ; 

In hamlets, dances on the green. 

Love rules the court, the camp, the grove, 

And men below, and saints above ; 

For love is heaven, and heaven is love. 



84 THE LAY OF Canto III. 

III. 

So thought Lord Cranstoun, as I ween, 

While, pondering deep the tender scene, 

He rode through Branksome's hawthorn green. 

But the page shouted wild and shrill, 
And scarce his helmet could he don, 

When downward from the shady hill 
A stately knight came pricking on. 
That warrior's steed, so dapple-grey, 
Was dark with sweat, and splash'd with clay; 

His armour red with many a stain : 
He seem'd in such a weary plight, 
As if he had ridden the live-long night ; 

For it was William of Deloraine. 

IV. 

But no whit weary did he seem, 

When, dancing in the sunny beam, 

He mark'd the crane on the Baron's crest; 1 

For his ready spear was in his rest. 

Few were the words, and stern and high, 
That mark'd the foemen's feudal hate; 

For question fierce, and proud reply, 
Gave signal soon of dire debate. 
Their very coursers seem'd to know 
That each was other's mortal foe, 
And snorted fire, when wheel'd around, 
To give each knight his vantage-ground. 



1 The crest of the Cranstouns, in allusion to their name, is a 
crane dormant, holding a stone in his foot, with an emphatic 
Border motto, Thuu shalt want ere I want. 



Vanto III THE LAST MINSTREL. 85 

V. 

In rapid round the Baron bent ; 

He sigh'd a sigh, and pray'd a prayer ; 
The prayer was to his patron saint, 

The sigh was to his ladye fair. 
Stout Deloraine nor sigh'd nor pray'd, 
Nor saint, nor ladye, call'd to aid ; 
But he stoop'd his head, and couch'd his spear, 
And spurr'd his steed to full career. 
/ The meeting of these champions proud 
^ V Seem'd like the bursting thunder-cloud. 

VI. 

Stern was the dint the Borderer lent ! 

The stately Baron backwards bent ; 

Bent backwards to his horse's tail, 

And his plumes went scattering on the gale ; 

The tough ash spear, so stout and true, 

Into a thousand flinders flew. 

But Cranstoun's lance, of more avail, 

Pierced through, like silk, the Borderer's mail , 

Through shield, and jack, and acton, past, 

Deep in his bosom broke at last. — 

Still sate the warrior saddle-fast, 

Till, stumbling in the mortal shock, 

Down went the steed, the girthing broke, 

Hurl'd on a heap lay man and horse. 

The Baron onward pass'd his course ; 

Nor knew — so giddy roll'd his brain — 

His foe lay stretch'd upon the plain. 

VII. 

But when he rein'd his courser round, 
And saw his foeman on the ground 
Vol. I. 



SG THE LAY OF Canlo III. 

*—~ -Lie senseless as the bloody clay, 
He bade his page to stanch the wound, 

And there beside the warrior stay, 
And tend him in his doubtful state, 
And lead him to Branksome castle-gate : 
His noble mind was inly moved 
For the kinsman of the maid he loved. 
"This shalt thou do without delay: 
No longer here myself may stay ; 
Unless the swifter I speed away, 
Short shrift will be at my dying day." 

VIII. 

Away in speed Lord Cranstoun rode ; 
The Goblin-Page behind abode ; 
His lord's command he ne'er withstood, 
Though small his pleasure to do good. 
As the corslet off he took, 
The dwarf espied the Mighty Book ! 
Much he marvell'd a knight of pride, 
V (^ Like a book-bosom'd priest should ride : ' 

He thought not to search nor stanch the wound, 
Until the secret he had found. 



1 " At Unthank, two miles N. E. from the church (of Ewes) 
there are the ruins of a chapel for divine service, in time of 
Popery. There is a tradition, that friars were wont to come from 
Melrose, or Jedburgh, to baptise and marry in this parish ; and 
from being- in use to carry the mass-book in their bosoms, they 
were called, by the inhabitants, Book-a-bosomes. There is a 
man yet alive, who knew old men who had been baptised by these 
Book-a-bosomes, and who says one of them, called Hair, used this 
parish for a very long- tim3." — Account of Parish of Eioes, apud 
Macfarlane's MSS. 



■Y 



Canto HI. tjib last minstrel. 8? 

IX. 

The iron band, the iron clasp, 

Resisted long the elfin grasp: 

For when the first he had undone, 

It closed as he the next begun. 

Those iron clasps, that iron band, 

Would not yield to unchristen'd hand, 

Till he smear'd the cover o'er 

With the Borderer's curdled gore : 

A moment then the volume spread, 

And one short spell therein he read, 
^ /It had much of glamour 1 might, 
I Could make a ladye seem a knight ; 

The cobwebs on a dungeon wall 

Seem tapestry in lordly hall ; 
i- -A nut-shell seem a gilded barge, 

A sheeling 2 seem a palace large, 
u v And youth seem age, and age seem youth — 

All was delusion, nought was truth. 3 

X. 

He had not read another spell, 
When on his cheek a buffet fell, 
So fierce, it stretch'd him on the plain, 
Beside the wounded Deloraine. 
From the ground he rose dismay'd, 
And shook his huge and matted head ; 
One word he mutter'd, and no more — 
" Man of age, thou smitest sore !*' — 
No more the Elfin Page durst try 
Into the wondrous Book to pry ; 

1 Magical delusion. s A shepherd's hut. 

b See Appendix, Note U. 



S3 THE LAY OF Canto HI 

The clasps, though smear'd with Christian gore, 

Shut faster than they were before. 

He hid it underneath his cloak. — 

Now, if you ask who gave the stroke, 

I cannot tell, so mot I thrive ; 

It was not given by man alive. ■ 

XL 

Unwillingly himself he address'd, 

To do his master's high behest: 

He lifted up the living corse, 

And laid it on the weary horse ; 

He led him into Branksome Hall, 

Before the beards of the warders all; 

And each did after swear and say, 

There only pass'd a wain of hay. 

He took him to Lord David's tower, 

Even to the Ladye's secret bower; 

And, but that stronger spells were spread, 

And the door might not be opened, 

He had laid him on her very bed. 

Whate'er he did of gramarye, 2 

Was always done maliciously; 

He flung the warrior on the ground, 

And the blood well'd freshly from the wound. 

XII. 

As he repass'd the outer court, 
He spied the fair young child at sport: 
He thought to train him to the wood ; 
For, at a word, be it understood, 



See Appendix, Note V. 2 Magic 



Canto III THE LAST MINSTREL. 89 

He was always for ill, and never for good. 
/ Seem'd to the boy, some comrade gay 
Led him forth to the woods to play ; 
On the drawbridge the warders stout 
Saw a terrier and lurcher passing out. 

XI II. 

He led the boy o'er bank and fell, 

Until they came to a woodland brook ; 
The running stream dissolved the spell, 1 

And his own elvish shape he took. 
Could he have had his pleasure vilde, 
He had crippled the joints of the noble child ; 
Or, with his fingers long and lean, 
Had strangled him in fiendish spleen : 
But his awful mother he had in dread, 
And also his power was limited ; 
So he but scowl'd on the startled child, 
And darted through the forest wild; 
The woodland brook he bounding cross'd, 
And laugh'd, and shouted, "Lost! lost! lost!*' — 

1 It is a firm article of popular faith, that no enchantment can 
subsist in a living stream. Nay, if you can interpose a brook 
hetwixt you and witches, spectres, or even fiends, you are in per- 
fect safety. Burns's inimitable Tarn o' Shanter turns entirely 
upon such a circumstance. The belief seems to be of antiquity. 
Brompton informs us, that certain Irish wizards could, by spells, 
convert earthen clods, or stones, into fat pigs, which they sold in 
the market ; but which always reassumed their proper form, when 
driven by the deceived purchaser across a running stream. But 
Brompton is severe on the Irish for a very good reason. " Gens 
ista spurcissima non solvunt decimas." — Chronicon Johannis 
Brompton apud decern Scriptores, p. 1076. 



90 THE LAY OF Canto III 

XIV. 

Full sore amazed at the wondrous change, 

And frighten'd as a child might be, 
At the wild yell and visage strange, 
And the dark words of gramarye, 
/The child, amidst the forest bower, 
' Stood rooted like a lily flower ; 

And when at length, with trembling pace, 
He sought to find where Branksome lay, 
He fear'd to see that grisly face 

Glare from some thicket on his way. 
Thus, starting oft, he journey'd on, 
And deeper in the wood is gone, — 
For aye the more he sought his way, 
The farther still he went astray, — 
Until he heard the mountains round 
Ring to the baying of a hound. 

XV. 

And hark ! and hark ! the deep-mouth'd bark 

Comes nigher still, and nigher: 
Bursts on the path a dark blood-hound, 
His tawny muzzle track'd the ground, 

And his red eye shot fire. 
Soon as the wilderd child saw he, 
He flew at him right furiouslie. 
I ween you would have seen with joy 
The bearing of the gallant boy, 
When, worthy of his noble sire, 
[lis wet cheek glow'd 'twixt fear and ire ! 
He faced the blood-hound manfully, 
And held his little bat on high ; 



Canto III. THE LAST MINSTREL. 91 

So fierce he struck, the dog, afraid, 
At cautious distance hoarsely bay'd, 

But still in act to spring; 
When dash'd an archer through the glade, 
And when he saw the hound was stay'd, 

He drew his tough bow-string; 
But a rough voice cried, " Shoot not, hoy ! 
Ho! shoot not, Edward— -'T is a boy!" 

XVI. 

The speaker issued from the wood, 
And check'd his fellow's surly mood, 

And quell'd the ban-dog's ire: 
He was an English yeoman good, 

And born in Lancashire. 
Well could he hit a fallow-deer 

Five hundred feet him fro; 
With hand more true, and eye more clear, 

No archer bended bow. 
His coal-black hair, shorn round and close, 

Set off his sun-burn'd face : 
Old England's sign, St. George's cross, 

His barret-cap did grace; 
His bugle-horn hung by his side, 

All in a wolf-skin baldric tied; 
And his short falchion, sharp and clear, 
Had pierced the throat of many a deer. 

XVII. 
His kirtle, made of forest green, 

Reach'd scantly to his knee; 
And, at his belt, of arrows keen 

A furbish'd sheaf bore he ; 



92 THE LAY OF Canto III 

His buckler scarce in breadth a span, 

No larger fence had he; 
He never counted him a man, 

Would strike below the knee : l 



1 Imitated from Drayton's account of Robin Hood and his fol- 
lowers : — 

"A hundred valiant men had this brave Robin Hood, 

Still ready at his call, that bowmen were right good : 

All clad in Lincoln green, with caps of red and blue, 

His fellow's winded horn not one of them but knew. 

When setting to their lips their bugles shrill, 

The warbling echoes waked from every dale and hill ; 

Their bauldrics set with studs athwart their shoulders cast, 

To which under their arms their sheafs were buckled fast, 

A short sword at their belt, a buckler scarce a span, 

Who struck below the knee not counted then a man. 

All made of Spanish yew, their bows were wondrous strong, 

They not an arrow drew but was a clothyard long. 

Of archery they had the very perfect craft, 

With broad arrow, or but, or prick, or roving shaft." 

Poly-Albion, Song 26. 

To wound an antagonist in the thigh, or leg, was reckoned 
contrary to the law of arms. In a tilt betwixt Gavvain Michael, 
an English squire, and Joachim Cathore, a Frenchman, "they 
met at the speare poyntes rudely : the French squyer justed 
right pleasantly; the Englishman ran too lowe, for he strak the 
Frenchman depe into the thigh. Wherewith the Erie of Buck- 
ingham was right sore displeased, and so were all the other lords, 
and sayde how it was shamefully done." Froissart, vol. i. chap. 
',\66. — Upon a similar occasion, " the two knyghts came a fote 
eche against other rudely, with their speares low couched, to 
stryke eche other within the foure quarters. Johan of Castell- 
Morant strake the English squyer on the brest in such wyse, that 
Syr Wyllyam Fermetone stombled and bowed, for his fote a 
lyttel fayled him. He helde his speare lowe with both his 
handes, and coude nat amende it, and strake Syr Johan of the 
Castell-Morant in the thighe, so that the speare went clene 
throughe, that the heed was sene a handfull on the other syde. 
And Syr Johan with the stroke reled, but he fell nat. Than the 



Can/o III. THE LAST MINSTREL. 93 

His slacken'd bow was in his hand, 

And the leash, that was his blood-hound's band. 

XVI1L 

He would not do the fair child harm, 
But held him with his povycrful arm, 
That he might neither tight nor flee ; 
For when the Red-Cross spied he, 
The boy strove long and violently. 
" Now, by St. George," the archer cries, 
■" Edward, methinks we have a prize ! 
This boy's fair face, and courage free, 
Show he is come of high degree." — 

XIX. 

" Yes ! I am come of high degree, 

For I am the heir of bold Buccleuch; 
And, if thou dost not set me free, 

False Southron, thou shalt dearly rue! 
For Walter of Harden shall come with speed, 
And William of Deloraine, good at need, 
And every Scott, from Esk to Tweed; 
And, if thou dost not let me go, 
Despite thy arrows, and thy bow, 
I'll have thee hang'd to feed the crow !" — 

Englyshe knyghtes and squyers were ryghte sore displeased, and 
sayde how it was a foule stroke. Syr Wyllyam Fermetone ex- 
cused himselfe, and sayde how he was sorie of that adventure, 
and howe that yf he had knowen that it shulde have bene so, he 
wolde never have begon it ; sayenge how he could nat amende 
it, by cause of glaunsing of his fote by constraynt of the great 
stroke that Syr Johan of the Castell-Morant had given him." — 
Froissart, vol. i. chap. 373. 
F 



04 THE LAY OF Canto ILL 

XX. 

" Gramercy, for thy good- will, fair boy ! 
My mind was never set so high ; 
But if thou art chief of such a clan, 
And art the son of such a man, 
And ever comest to thy command, 

Our wardens had need to keep good order; 
V My bow of yew to a hazel wand, 

Thou 'It make them work upon the Border 
Meantime, be pleased to come with me, 
For good Lord Dacre shalt thou see ; 
I think our work is well begun, 
When we have taken thy father's son," 

XXI. 

Although the child was led away, 
In Branksome still he scem'd to stay, 
For so the Dwarf his part did play ; 
And, in the shape of that young boy,. 
He wrought the castle much annoy. 
The comrades of the young Buccleucb 
He pinch'd, and beat, and overthrew; 
Nay, some of them he wellnigh slew. 
He tore Dame Maudlin's silken tire, 
And, as Sym Hall stood by the fire, 
. He lighted the match of his bandelier,* 
And wofully scorch'd the hackbuteer.* 
It may be hardly thought or said, 
The mischief that the urchin made, 
Till many of the castle guess'd, 
That the young Baron was possess' d ! 

1 Bandelier, belt for carrying ammunition. 

2 Hackbuteei\ musketeer. 



< 'auto Ml THE LAST MINSTREL. £5 

XXII. 

Well I ween the charm he held 
The noble Ladye had soon dispell'd; 
But she was deeply busied then 
To tend the wounded Deloraine. 

Much she wonder'd to find him lie, 

On the stone threshold stretch'd along; 

She thought some spirit of the sky 

Had done the bold moss-trooper wrong ; 
Because, despite her precept dread, 
Perchance he in the Book had read ; 
But the broken lance in his bosom stood, 
And it was earthly steel and wood. 

XXIII. 

She drew the splinter from the wound, 

And with a charm she stanch'd the blood; 1 

She bade the gash be cleansed and bound : 
No longer by his couch she stood ; 

But she has ta'en the broken lance, 
And washed it from the clotted gore, 
And salved the splinter o'er and o'er. 3 

William of Deloraine in trance, 

Whene'er she turn'd it round and round, 
^* Twisted as if she gall'd his wound. 
Then to her maidens she did say, 

1 See several charms for this purpose in Reginald Scott's /)/.<?• 
covery of Witch a aft, p. 273. 

"Tom Polls was but a serving man, 

But yet he was a doctor good ; 

He bound his handkerchief on the wound, 

And with some kinds of words he stanched the blood." 

Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry, Lond. 1791, p. 131. 

2 See Appendix, Note Vv T . 



06 THE LAY OF Canto III 

That he should be whole man and sound, 
Within the course of a night and day. 
Full long she toil'd ; for she did rue 
Mishap to friend so stout and true. 

XXIV. 

So pass'd the day — the evening fell, 

'Twas near the time of curfew bell ; 

The air was mild, the wind was calm, 

The stream was smooth, the dew was balm ; 

E'en the rude watchman, on the tower, 

Enjoy 'd and blessM the lovely hour. 

Far more fair Margaret loved and bless'd 

The hour of silence and of rest. 

On the high turret sitting lone, 

She waked at times the lute's soft tone; 

Touch'd a wild note, and all between 

Thought of the bower of hawthorns green. 

Her golden hair stream'd free from band, 

Her fair cheek rested on her hand, 

Her blue eyes sought the west afar, 

For lovers love the western star. 

XXV. 

Is yon the star, o'er Penchryst Pen, 

That rises slowly to her ken, 

And, spreading broad its wavering light, 

Shakes its loose tresses on the night? 

Is yon red glare the western star? — 

O, 'tis the beacon-blaze of war ! 

Scarce could she draw her tighten'd breath, 

For well she knew the fire of death ! 



Canto III. THE LAST MINSTREL. U7 

XXVI. 

The Warder vievv'd it blazing strong, 
And blew his war-note loud and long, 
Till, at the high and haughty sound, 
Rock, wood, and river, rung around. 
The blast alarm'd the festal hall, 
And startled forth the warriors all ; 
Far downward, in the castle-yard, 
Full many a torch and cresset glared ; 
And helms and plumes, confusedly toss'd, 
Were in the blaze half-seen, half-lost; 
And spears in wild disorder shook, 
^ ( Like reeds beside a frozen brook. 

XXVII. 

The Seneschal, whose silver hair 
Was redden'd by the torches' glare, 
Stood in the midst, with gesture proud, 
And issued forth his mandates loud : — 
"On Penchryst glows a bale 1 of fire, 
And three are kindling on Priesthaughswire ; 

1 Bale, beacon-fagot. The border beacons, from their number 
and position, formed a sort of telegraphic communication with 
Edinburgh. — The act of Parliament 1455, c. 48, directs, that one 
bale or fagot shall be warning of the approach of the English in 
any manner ; two bales that they are coming indeed ; four bales, 
blazing beside each other, that the enemy are in great force. 
" The same taikenings to be watched and maid at Eggerhope 
(Eggerstand) Castell, fra they se the fire of Hume, that they 
fire right swa. And in like manner on Sowtra Edge, sail se the 
fire of Eggerhope Castell, and mak taikening in like manner: 
And then may all Louthaine be warned, and in special the Castell 
of Edinburgh; and their four fires to be made in like manner, 
that they in Fife, and fra Striveling east, and the east part of 

Vol. I. 9 



98 THE LAY OF Canto 1JL 

Ride out, ride out, 

The foe to scout ! 
Mount, mount for Branksome, 1 everv man! 
Thou, Todrig, warn the Johnstone clan, 

That ever are true and stout — 
Ye need not send to Liddesdale ; 
For when they see the blazing bale, 
Elliots and Armstrongs never fail. — 
Ride, Alton, ride, for death and life ! 
And warn the warder of the strife. 
Young Gilbert, let our beacon blaze, 
Our kin, and clan, and friends, to raise." 2 

XXVIII. 

Fair Margaret, from the turret head, 
Heard, far below, the coursers' tread, 

While loud the harness rung, 
As to their seats, with clamour dread, 

The ready horsemen sprung: 
And trampling hoofs, and iron coats, 
And leaders' voices, mingled notes, 
And out ! and out ! 
In hasty route, 

The horsemen gallop'd forth ; 
Dispersing to the south to scout, 

Louthaine, and to Dunbar, all may se them, and come to the 
defence of the realme." These beacons (at least in latter times) 
were a " long- and strong tree set up, with a long iron pole across 
the head of it, and an iron brander fixed on a stalk in the middle 
of it, for holding a tar-barrel." — Stevenson's History, vol. ii. 
p. 701. 

1 Mount for Branksome was the gathering-word of the Scotts. 

2 See Appendix, Note X. 



( 



Canlo HI. THE LAST MINSTREL. 09 

And east, and west, and north, 
To view their coming enemies, 
And warn their vassals and allies. 

XXIX. 

The ready page, with hurried hand, 

Awaked the need-fire's 1 slumbering brand, 
And ruddy blush'd the heaven : 

For a sheet of flame, from the turret high, 

Waved like a blood-flag on the sky, 
All flaring and uneven; 

And soon a score of fires, I ween, 

From height, and hill, and cliff) were seen; 

Each with warlike tidings fraught ; 

Each from each the signal caught; 
/"Each after each they glanced to sight, 
( As stars arise upon the night. 

They gleam'd on many a dusky tarn, 2 

Haunted by the lonely earn ; 3 

On many a cairn's 4 grey pyramid, 

Where urns of mighty chiefs lie hid ; 

1 Need-Jire, beacon. 2 Tarn, a mountain lake. 

3 Earn, a Scottish eagle. 

4 The cairns, or piles of loose stones, which crown the summit 
of most of our Scottish hills, and are found in other remarkable 
situations, seem usually, though not universally, to have been 
sepulchral monuments. Six flat stones are commonly found in 
*he centre, forming a cavity of greater or smaller dimensions, in 
which an urn is often placed. The author is possessed of one, 
discovered beneath an immense cairn at Roughlee, in Liddesdale. 
It is of the most barbarous construction ; the middle of the sub- 
stance alone having been subjected to the fire, over which, when 
hardened, the artist had laid an inner and outer coat of unbaked 
clay, etched with some very rude ornaments; his skill apparently 



100 THE LAV OF Canto 111. 

Till high Dunedin the blazes saw, 
From Soltra and Dumpender Law; 
And Lothian heard the Regent's order, 
That all should bowne 1 them for the Border. 

XXX. 

The livelong night in Branksome rang 

The ceaseless sound of steel ; 
The castle-bell, with backward clang, 

Sent forth the larum peal; 
Was frequent heard the heavy jar, 
Where massy stone and iron bar 
Were piled on echoing keep and tower, 
To whelm the foe with deadly shower; 
Was frequent heard the changing guard, 
And watch-word from the sleepless ward ; 
While, wearied by the endless din, 
Blood-hound and ban-dog yell'd within. 

XXXI. 

The noble Dame, amid the broil, 
Shared the grey Seneschal's high toil, 
And spoke of danger with a smile; 

Cheer'd the young knights, and council sage 
Held with the chiefs of riper age. 
No tidings of the foe were brought, 
Nor of his numbers knew they aught, 
Nor what in time of truce he sought. 

being inadequate to baking the vase, when completely finished, 
The contents were bones and ashes, and a quantity of beads made 
of coal. This seems to have been a barbarous imitation of the 
Roman fashion of sepulture. 
1 Bowne, make ready. 



Canto III. THE LAST MINSTREL. 101 

Some said, that there were thousands ten ; 
And others ween'd that it was nought 

But Leven Clans, or Tynedale men, 
Who came to gather in black-mail ; l 
And Liddesdale, with small avail, 

Might drive them lightly back agen. 
So pass'd the anxious night away, 
And welcome was the peep of day. 



Ceased the high sound — the listening throng 

Applaud the Master of the Song; 

And marvel much, in helpless age, 

So hard should be his pilgrimage. 

Had he no friend — no daughter dear, 

His wandering toil to share and cheer; 

No son to be his father's stay, 

And guide him on the rugged way? 

"Ay, once he had — but he was dead!" — 

Upon the harp he stoop'd his head, 

And busied himself the strings withal, 

To hide the tear, that fain would fall. 

In solemn measure, soft and slow, 

Arose a father's notes of woe. 

1 Protection-money exacted by freebooters. 
9* 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 

CANTO FOURTH. 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO FOURTH. 



Sweet Teviot! on thy silver tide 

The glaring bale-fires blaze no more ; 
No longer steel-clad warriors ride 

Along thy wild and willow'd shore; 
Where'er thou wind'st, by dale or hill, 
All, all is peaceful, all is still, 

As if thy waves, since Time was born, 
Since first they roll'd upon the Tweed, 
Had only heard the shepherd's reed, 

Nor started at the bugle-horn. 

II. 

Unlike the tide of human time, 

Which, though it change in ceaseless flow, 
Retains each grief, retains each crime, 

Its earliest course was doom'd to know ; 
And, darker as it downward bears, 
Is stain'd with past and present tears. 



106 THE LAY OF Canto IV. 

Low as that tide has ebb'd with me, 
It still reflects to Memory's eye 
The hour my brave, my only boy, 

Fell by the side of great Dundee. 1 
Why, when the volleying musket play'd 
Against the bloody Highland blade, 
Why was not I beside him laid ! — 
Enough — he died the death of fame; 
Enough — he died with conquering Graeme. 

III. 

Now over Border dale and fell, 

Full wide and far was terror spread ; 

For pathless marsh, and mountain cell, 
The peasant left his lowly shed. 2 



1 The Viscount of Dundee, slain in the battle of Killicrankie. 

2 The morasses were the usual refuge of the Border herdsmen, 
on the approach of an English army. — (Minstrelsy of the Scot- 
tish Border, vol. i. p. 393.) Caves, hewed in the most dangerous 
and inaccessible places, also afforded an occasional retreat. Such 
caverns may be seen in the precipitous banks of the Teviot at 
Sunlaws, upon the Ale at Ancram, upon the Jed at Hundalee, 
and in many other places upon the Border. The banks of the 
Eske, at Gorton and Hawthornden, are hollowed into similar 
recesses. But even these dreary dens were not always secure 
places of concealment. " In the way as we came, not far from 
this place, (Long Niddry,) George Ferres, a gentleman of my 

Lord Protector's happened upon a cave in the grounde, 

the mouth whereof was so worne with the fresh printe of steps, 
that ne seemed to be certayne thear wear some folke within ; 
and gone doune to trie, he was redily receyved with a hakebut 
or two. He left them not yet, till he had known wheyther thei 
wold be content to yield and come out; which they fondly re- 
fusing, he went to my lorde's grace, and upon utterance of the 
thynge, gat licence to deale with them as he coulde ; and so 



CanioIV. THE LAST MINSTREL. 107 

The frighten'd flocks and herds were pent 
Beneath the peel's rude battlement; 
And maids and matrons dropp'd the tear, 
While ready warriors seized the spear. 
From Branksome's towers, the watchman's eye 
Dun wreaths of distant smoke can spy, 
Which, curling in the rising sun, 
Show'd southern ravage was begun. 1 

IV. 

Now loud the heedful gate-ward cried — 

Prepare ye all for blows and blood ! 
Watt Tinlinn, 2 from the Liddel-side, 

returned to them, with a skore or two of pioners. Three ventes 
had their cave, that we wear ware of, whereof he first stopt up 
on ; anoother he fiil'd full of strawe, and set it a fyer, whereat 
they within cast water apace ; but it was so wel maynteyned 
without, that the fyer prevayled, and thei within fayn to get 
them belyke into anoother parler. Then devysed we (for I hapt 
to be with him) to stop the same up, whereby we should eyther 
smoother them, or fynd out their ventes, if thei hadde any moe : 
as this was done at another issue, about xii score of, we moughte 
see the fume of their smoke to come out: the which continued 
with so great a force, and so long a while, that we could not but 
thinke they must needs get them out, or smoother within : and 
forasmuch as we found not that they dyd the tone, we thought it 
for certain thei wear sure of the toother." — Patten's Account 
of Somerset's Expedition into Scotland, apud Dalyell's Frag- 
ments. 

1 See Appendix, Note Y. 

2 This person was, in my younger days, the theme of many a 
fireside tale. He was a retainer of the Buccleuch family, and 
held for his Border service a small tower on the frontiers of Lid 
desdale. Watt was, by profession, a sutor, but, by inclination 
and practice, an archer and warrior. Upon one occasion, the 

G 



108 THE LAY OF Canto IV 

Comes wading th rough the flood. 
Full oft the Tynedale snatchers knock 

At his lone gate, and prove the lock ; 
It was but last St. Barnabright 
They sieged him a whole summer night, 
But fled at morning ; well they knew, 
In vain he never twang'd the yew. 
Right sharp has been the evening shower, 
That drove him from his Liddel tower; 
And, by my faith," the gate-ward said, 
" I think 't will prove a Warden-Raid." l 

V. 

While thus he spoke, the bold yeoman 
Enter'd the echoing barbican. 
He led a small and shaggy nag, 
That through a bog, from hag to hag, 2 
Could bound like any Billhope stag. 3 

captain of Bewcastle, military governor of that wild district of 
Cumberland, is said to have made an incursion into Scotland, in 
which he was defeated, and forced to fly. Watt Tinlinn pursued 
him closely through a dangerous morass ; the captain, however, 
gained the firm ground ; and seeing Tinlinn dismounted, and 
floundering in the bog, used these words of insult: — " Sutor 
Watt, ye cannot sew your boots ; the heels risp, and the seams 
rive.'''' 1 — "If I cannot sew," retorted Tinlinn, discharging a 
shaft, which nailed the captain's thigh to his saddle, — "If I can- 
not sew, I can yerk.'' 2 

1 An inroad commanded by the Warden in person. 

2 The broken ground in a bog. 

3 There is an old rhyme, which thus celebrates the places in 
Liddesdale remarkable for game : 

i Risp, creak. — Rive, tear. 

2 Yerk, to twitch, as shoemakers do, in securing the stitches of their work. 



Vento IV. THE LAST MINSTREL. 10D 

It bore his wife and children twain; 

A half-clothed serf 1 was all their train : 

His wife, stout, ruddy, and dark-brow'd, 

Of silver brooch and bracelet proud, 2 

Laugh'd to her friends among the crowd. 

He was of stature passing tall, 

But sparely form'd, and lean withal; 

A batter'd morion on his brow; 

A leather jack, as fence enow, 

On his broad shoulders loosely hung; 

A border axe behind was slung; 

His spear, six Scottish ells in length, 
Seem'd newly dyed with gore ; 

His shafts and bow, of wondrous strength, 
His hardy partner bore. 

VI. 

Thus to the Ladye did Tinlinn show 
The tidings of the English foe : — 
" Belted Will Howard 3 is marching here, 
And hot Lord Dacre, 4 with many a spear, 

"Billhope braes for bucks and raes, 

And Carit haugh for swine, 
And Tarras for the good bull-trout, 
If he be ta'en in time." 
The bucks and roes, as well as the old swine, are now extinct ; 
but the good bull-trout is still famous. 
1 Bondsman. 

8 As the Borderers were indifferent about the furniture of their 
habitations, so much exposed to be burned and plundered, they 
were proportionally anxious to display splendour in decorating 
and ornamenting their females. — See Lesley de Moribus Litn- 
itaneorum. 

y See Appendix, Note Z. 4 See Appendix, Note A 2. 

Vol. I. 10 



i 10 THE LAY OF Canto IV. 

And all the German hackbut-men, 1 

Who have long lain at Asker ten : 

They cross'd the Liddel at curfew hour. 

And burn'd my little lonely tower: 

The fiend receive their souls therefor ! 

It had not been burnt this year and more. 

Barn-yard and dwelling, blazing bright, 

Served to guide me on my flight ; 

But I was chased the livelong night. 

Black John of Akeshaw, and Fergus Graeme, 

Fast upon my traces came, 

Until I turn'd at Priesthaugh Scrogg, 

And shot their horses in the bog, 

Slew Fergus with my lance outright — 

I had him long at high despite: 

He drove my cows last Fastern's night." 

VII. 

Now T weary scouts from Liddesdale, 
Fast hurrying in, confirm'd the tale ; 
As far as they could judge by ken, 

Three hours would bring to Teviot's strand 
Three thousand armed Englishmen — 
Meanwhile, full many a warlike band, 
From Teviot, Aill, and Ettrick shade, 
Came in, their Chief's defence to aid. 

There was saddling and mounting in haste. 

There was pricking o'er moor and lea; 
He that was last at the trysting-place 
Was but lightly held of his gay ladye. 

1 Musketeers. See Appendix, Note B 2. 



r 3an1o 1\ THE LAST MINSTREL. Ill 

VIIL 

From fair St. Mary's silver wave, 

From dreary Gamescleugh's dusky height, 
His ready lances Thirlesiane brave 

Array'd beneath a banner bright. 
The tressured fleur-cle-luce he claims 
To wreathe his shield, since Royal James, 
Encamp'd by Fala's mossy wave, 
The proud distinction grateful gave, 

For faith 'mid feudal jars; 
What time, save Thirlestane alone, 
Of Scotland's stubborn barons none 

Would march to southern wars ; 
And hence, in fair remembrance worn, 
Yon sheaf of spears his crest has borne; 
Hence his high motto shines reveal'd — 
** Ready, aye ready," for the field. 1 

IX. 

An aged Knight, to danger steel'd, 

With many a moss-trooper, came on; 
And azure in a golden field, 
The stars and crescent graced his shield, 

Without the bend of Murdieston. 2 
Wide lay his lands round Oak wood tower 
And wide round haunted Castle-Ower ; 
High over Borthwick's mountain flood, 
His wood-embosom'd mansion stood ; 
In the dark glen, so deep below, 
The herds of plunder'd England low; 

1 See Appendix, Note C 2. 2 See Appendix, Note D 2. 



112 THE LAV OF Canto IV. 

His bold retainers' daily food, 

And bought with danger, blows, and blood. 

Marauding chief! his sole delight 

The moonlight raid, the morning fight; 

Not even the Flower of Yarrow's charms, 

In youth, might tame his rage for arms; 

And still, in age, he spurn'd at rest, 

And still his brows the helmet press'd^ 

Albeit the blanched locks below 

Were white as Dinlay's spotless snow ; 

Five stately warriors drew the swoid 
Before their father's band ; 

A braver knight than Harden's lord 
Ne'er belted on a brand* 

X. 

Scotts of Eskdale, a stalwart band, 1 
Came trooping down the Todshawhill ; 

By the sword they won their land, 
And by the sword they hold it still. 



1 In this, and the following" stanzas, some account is given of 
the mode in which the property in the valley of Esk was trans- 
ferred from the Beattisons, its ancient possessors, to the name of 
Scott. It is needless to repeat the circumstances, which are* 
given in the poem, literally as they have been preserved by tra- 
dition. Lord Maxwell, in the latter part of the sixteenth cen- 
tury, took upon himself the title of Earl of Morton. The 
descendants of Beattison of Woodkerrick, who aided the Earl 
to escape from his disobedient vassals, continued to hold these 
lands within the memory of man, and were the only Beattisons 
who had property in the dale. The old people give locality to 
the story, by showing the Galliard's Haugh, the place where 
Buccleuch's men were concealed, &c. 



Canto IV. THE LAST MINSTREL. 113 

Hearken, Ladyc, to the tale, 

How thy sires won fair Eskdale. — 

Earl Morton was lord of that valley fair, 

The Beattisons were his vassals there. 

The Earl was gentle, and mild of mood, 

The vassals were warlike, and fierce, and rude; 

High of heart, and haughty of word, 

Little they reck'd of a tame liege lord. 

The Earl into fair Eskdale came, 

Homage and seignory to claim : 

Of Gilbert the Gal Hard a heriot 1 he sought, 

Saying, " Give thy best steed, as a vassal ought." 

— " Dear to me is my bonny white steed, 

Oft has he help'd me at pinch of need ; 

Lord and Earl though thou be, I trow, 

I can rein Bucksfoot better than thou." — 

Word on word gave fuel to fire, 

Till so highly blazed the Beattison's ire, 

But that the Earl the flight had ta'en, 

The vassals there their lord had slain. 

Sore he plied both whip and spur, 

As he urged his steed through Eskdale muir; 

And it fell down a weary weight, 

Just on the threshold of Branksome gate. 

XL 

The Earl was a wrathful man to see, 
Full fain avenged would he be. 
In haste to Branksome's Lord he spoke, 
Saying — «' Take tli£se traitors to thy yoke ; 

1 The feudal superior, in certain cases, was entitled to the 
best horse of the vassal, in name of Heriot, or Ilerezeld. 
10* 



114 THE LAY OF Canto TV. 

For a cast of hawks, and a purse of gold, 

All Eskdale I'll sell thee, to have and hold: 

Beshrew thy heart, of the Beattisons' clan 

If thou leavest on Eske a landed man ; 

But spare Woodkerrick's lands alone, 

For he lent me his horse to escape upon." 

A glad man then was Branksome bold, 

Down he flung him the purse of gold ; 

To Eskdale soon he spurr'd amain, 

And with him five hundred riders has ta'en. 

He left his merrymen in the midst of the hill, 

And hade them hold them close and still - r 

And alone he wended to the plain, 

To meet with the Gallia rd and all his train." 

To Gilbert the Galliard thus he said: — 

" Know thou me for thy liege-lord and head - 7 

Deal not with me as with Morton tame, 

For Scotts play best at the roughest game. 

Give me in peace my heriot due, 

Thy bonny white steed, or thou shait rue. 

If my horn I three times wind, 

Eskdale shall long have the sound in mind."— 

XII. 

Loudly the Beattison laugh'd in scorji ; 
" Little care we for thy winded horn. 
Ne'er shall it be the Galliard's lot, 
To yield his steed to a haughty Scott. 
Wend thou to Branksome back on foot, 
With rusty spur and miry boot." — 
He blew his bugle so loud and hoarse, 
That the dun deer started at fair Craikcross, 



Canto IV. THE LAST MINSTREL. 115 

He blew again so loud and clear, 

Through the gray mountain-mist there did lances 

appear ; 
And the third blast rang with such a din 
That the echoes answer'd from Pentoun-linn, 
And all his riders came lightly in. 
Then had you seen a gallant shock, 
When saddles were emptied, and lances broke ! 
For each scornful word the Galliard had said, 
A Beattison on the field was laid. 
His own good sword the chieftain drew, 
And he bore the Galliard through and through ; 
Where the Beattison's blood mix'd with the rill, 
The Galliard's Haugh men call it still. 
The Scotts have scatter'd the Beattison clan, 
In Eskdale they left but one landed man. 
The valley of Eske, from the mouth to the source, 
Was lost and won for that bonny white horse. 

XIII. 

Whitslade the Hawk, and Headshaw came, 
And warriors more than I may name ; 
From Yarrow-cleugh to Hindhaugh-swair, 

From Woodhouselie to Chester-glen, 
Troop'd man and horse, and bow and spear; 

Their gathering- word was Bellenden. 1 

1 Bellenden is situated near the head of Borthwick water, and, 
being in the centre of the possessions of the Scotts, was fre- 
quently used as their place of rendezvous and gathering-word. — 
Survey of Selkirkshire, in Macfar lane's MSS., Advocates' 
Library. Hence Satchells calls one part of his genealogical 
account of the families of that clan, his Bellenden. 



116 THE LAY OF Canto IV 

And better hearts o'er Border sod 
To siege or rescue never rode. 

The Ladye mark'd the aids come in, 
And high her heart of pride arose: 
She bade her youthful son attend, 
That he might know his father's friend, 

And learn to face his foes. 
" The boy is ripe to look on war ; 

I saw him draw a cross-bow stiff, 
And his true arrow struck afar 
The raven's nest upon the cliff; 
The red cross, on a southern breast, 
Is broader than the raven's nest: 
Thou, Whitslade, shalt teach him his weapon to 

wield, 
And o'er him hold his father's shield." — 

XIV. 

Well may you think, the wily page 

Cared not to face the Ladye sage. 

He counterfeited childish fear, 

And shriek'd, and shed full many a tear, 

And moan'd and plain'd in manner wild. 
The attendants to the Ladye told, 

Some fairy, sure, had changed the child, 
That wont to be so free and bold. 
Then wrathful was the noble dame; 
She blush'd blood-red for very shame : — 
"Hence! ere the clan his faintness view; 
Hence with the weakling to Buccleuch ! — 
Watt Tinlinn, thou shalt be his guide 
To Rangleburn's lonely side. — 
Sure some foul fiend has cursed our line, 
That coward should e'er be son of mine !" 



Canto IV. THE LAST MINSTREL. 117 

XV. 

A heavy task Watt Tinlinn had, 
To guide the counterfeited lad. 
Soon as the palfrey felt the weight 
Of that ill-omen'd elfish freight, 
He holted, sprung, and rear'd amain, 
Nor heeded bit, nor curb, nor rein. 
It cost Watt Tinlinn mickle toil 
To drive him but a Scottish mile; 

But as a shallow brook they cross'd, 
The elf, amid the running stream, 
His figure changed, like form in dream, 
And fled, and shouted, "Lost! lost! lost!" 
Full fast the urchin ran and laugh'd, 
But faster still a cloth-yard shaft 
Whistled from startled Tinlinn's yew, 
And pierced his shoulder through and through. 
Although the imp might not be slain, 
And though the wound soon heaPd again, 
Yet, as he ran, he yelPd for pain; 
And Watt of Tinlinn, much aghast, 
Rode back to Branksome fiery fast. 

XVI. 
Soon on the hill's steep verge he stood, 
That looks o'er Branksome's towers and wood; 
And martial murmurs, from below, 
Proclaim'd the approaching southern foe. 
Through the dark wood, in mingled tone, 
Were Border pipes and bugles blown; 
The coursers' neighing he could ken, 
A measured tread of marching men ; 
While broke at times the solemn hum, 
The Almayn's sullen kettle-drum; 



118 THE LAY OF Canto IV. 

And banners tall, of crimson sheen, 

Above the copse appear ; 
And, glistening through the hawthorns green, 

Shine helm, and shield, and spear. 

XVII. 
Light forayers, first, to view the ground, 
Spurr'd their fleet coursers loosely round; 

Behind, in close array, and fast, 
The Kendal archers, all in green, 

Obedient to the bugle blast, 

Advancing from the wood were seen. 
To back and guard the archer band, 
Lord Dacre's bill-men were at hand : 
A hardy race, on Irthing bred. 
With kirtles white, and crosses red, 
Array'd beneath the banner tall, 
That stream'd o'er Acre's conquer'd wall ; 
And minstrels, as they march'd in order, 
Play'd, " Noble Lord Dacre, he dwells on the Border.' 

XVIII. 

Behind the English bill and bow, 
The mercenaries, firm and slow, 

Moved on to fight, in dark array, 
By Conrad led of Wolfenstein, 
Who brought the band from distant Rhine, 

And sold their blood for foreign pay. 
The camp their home, their law the sword, 
They knew no country, own'd no lord: 1 

1 The mercenary adventurers, whom, in 1380, the Earl of Cam- 
bridge carried to the assistance of the King of Portugal against 
the Spaniards, mutinied for want of regular pay. At an assem- 



Cauto IV, THE LAS!" MINSTREL, 1 1;> 

They were not arm'd like England's sons, 

But bore the levin-darting guns; 

Buff coats, all frounced and 'broider'd o'er, 

And morsing-horns 1 and scarfs they wore; 

Each better knee was bared, to aid 

The warriors in the escalade ; 

All, as they march'd, in rugged tongue, 

Songs of Teutonic feuds they sung. 

XIX. 

But louder still the clamour grew, 
And louder still the minstrels blew, 
When, from beneath the greenwood tree, 
Rode forth Lord Howard's chivalry ; 
His men-at-arms, with glaive and spear, 
Brought up the battle's glittering rear. 
There many a youthful knight, full keen 
To gain his spurs, in arms was seen ; 

bly of their leaders, Sir John Soltier, a natural son of Edward 
the Black Prince, thus addressed them : " ' I counsayle, let us 
be alle of one alliance, and of one accorde, and let us among' 
ourselves reyse up the baner of St. George, and let us be frendes 
to God, and enemyes to alle the worlde ; for without we make 
ourselfe to be feared, we gette nothynge.' 

" ' By my fayth,' quod Sir William Helmon, ' ye save right 
well, and so let us do.' They all agreed with one voyce, and so 
regarded among them who shulde be their capitayne. Then 
they odvysed in the case how they coude nat have a better capi- 
tayne than Sir John Soltier. For they sulde than have good 
leyser to do yvel, and they thought he was more metelyer 
thereto than any other. Then they raised up the penon of St. 
George, and cried, • A Soltier ! a Soltier ! the valyaunt bastarde ! 
frendes to God, and enemies to all the worlde!' " — Froissart, 
vol. i. ch. 393. 

1 Powder-flasks. 
H 



120 THE LAY OF Canto IV, 

With favour in his crest, or glove, 

Memorial of his ladye-love. 

So rode they forth in fair array, 

Till full their lengthen'd lines display ; 

Then call'd a halt, and made a stand, 

And cried, " St. George, for merry England !" 

XX. 

Now every English eye, intent, 
On Rranksome's armed towers was bent ; 
So near they were, that they might know 
The straining harsh of each cross-bow ; 
On battlement and bartizan 
Gleam'd axe, and spear, and partisan ; 
Falcon and culver, on each tower, 
Stood prompt their deadly hail to shower; 
And flashing armour frequent broke 
From eddying whirls of sable smoke, 
Where upon tower and turret head, 
The seething pitch and molten lead 
Reek'd, like a witch's caldron red. 
While yet they gaze, the bridges fall, 
The wicket opes, and from the wall 
Rides forth the hoary Seneschal. 

XXI. 

Armed he rode, all save the head, 

His white beard o'er his breast-plate spread , 

Unbroke by age, erect his seat, 

He ruled his eager courser's gait ; 

Forced him, with chasten'd fire, to prance, 

And, high curvetting, slow advance : 

In sign of truce, his better hand 

Display'd a peeled willow wand ; 



Canto IV. THE LAST MINSTREL. 12J 

His squire, attending in the rear, 

Bore high a gauntlet on a spear. 1 

When they espied him riding out, 

Lord Howard and Lord Dacrc stout 

Sped to the front of their array, 

To hear what this old knight should say. 

XXII. 

" Ye English warden lords, of you 

Demands the Ladye of Buccleuch, 

Why, 'gainst the truce of Border tide, 

[n hostile guise ye dare to ride, 

With Kendal bow, and Gilsland brand, 

And all yon mercenary band, 

Upon the bounds of fair Scotland? 

My Ladye reads you swith return ; 

And, if but one poor straw you burn, 

Or do our towers so much molest, 

As scare one swallow from her nest, 

St. Mary! but we'll light a brand 

Shall warm your hearths in Cumberland." — 

XXIII. 

A wrathful man was Dacre's lord, 

But calmer Howard took the word : 

" May 't please thy Dame, Sir Seneschal, 

To seek the castle's outward wall, 

Our pursuivant-at-arms shall show 

Both why we came, and when we go." — 

1 A glove upon a lance was the emblem of faith among the 
tncient Borderers, who were wont, when any one broke his word, 
to expose this emblem, and proclaim him a faithless villain at 
the first Border meeting. This ceremony was much dreaded. 
See Lesley. 

Vol.. I. 11 



1^2 THE LAY OF Canto IV, 

The message sped, the noble Dame 
To the wall's outward circle came; 
Each chief around lean'd on his spear, 
To see the pursuivant appear. 
All in Lord Howard's livery dress'd, 
The lion argent deck'd his breast; 
He led a boy of blooming hue — 

sight to meet a mother's view ! 
It was the heir of great Buccleugh. 
Obeisance meet the herald made, 
And thus his master's will he said. 

XXIV. 

"It irks, high Dame, my noble Lords, 
'Gainst ladye fair to draw their swords; 
But yet they may not tamely see, 
All through the Western Wardenry, 
Your law-contemning kinsmen ride, 
And burn and spoil the Border-side; 
And ill beseems your rank and birth 
To make your towers a flemens-firth. 1 
We claim from thee William of Deloraine, 
That he may suffer march-treason 2 pain. 
It was but last St. Cuthbert's even 
He prick'd to Stapleton on Leven, 

1 An asylum for outlaws. 

2 Several species of offences, peculiar to the Border, constituted 
what was called march-treason. Among others, was the crime 
of riding, or causing to ride, against the opposite country during 
the time of truce. Thus, in an indenture made at the water of 
Eske, beside Salom, on the 25th day of March, 1334, betwixt 
noble lords and mighty, Sirs Henry Percy, Earl of Northumber- 
land, and Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway, a truce is*agreed 
upon until the 1st day of July ; and it is expressly accorded "Gif 



Canlo IV THE LAST MINSTREL. 123 

Harried 1 the lands of Richard Musgrave, 
And slew his brother by dint of glaive. 
Then, since a lone and widow'd Dame 
These restless riders may not tame, 
Either receive within thy towers 
Two hundred of my master's powers, 
Or straight they sound their warrison, 2 
And storm and spoil thy garrison : 
iVnd this fair boy, to London led, 
Shall good King Edward's page be bred." 

XXV. 

He ceased — and loud the boy did cry, 
And stretch'd his little arms on high ; 
Implored for aid each well-known face, 
And strove to seek the Dame's embrace. 
A moment changed that Ladye's cheer, 
Gush'd to her eye the unbidden tear ; 
She gazed upon the leaders round, 
And dark and sad each warrior frown'd ; 
Then, deep within her sobbing breast 
She lock'd the struggling sigh to rest; 
Unaltcr'd and collected stood, 
And thus replied, in dauntless mood: — 

XXVI. 

" Say to your Lords of high emprize, 
Who war on women and on boys, 



ony stellis authir on the ta part, or on the tothyr, that he shall be 
hanget or heofdit ; and gif ony company stellis any gudes within 
the trieux beforesayd, ane of that company sail be hanget or 
heofdit, and the remnant sail restore thegudys stolen in the dab- 
ble." — History of Westmoreland and Cumberland, Introd. p. 
xxxix. 

' Plundered. 2 Note of assault 



121 THE LAY OF Canto IV. 

That either William of Deloraine 

Will cleanse him, by oath, of march-treason stain, 1 

Or else he will the combat take 

'Gainst Musgrave, for his honour's sake. 

No knight in Cumberland so good, 

But William may count with him kin and blood. 

Knighthood he took of Douglas' sword, 2 

When English blood swell'd Ancram's ford; 3 

And but Lord Dacre's steed was wight, 

And bare him ably in the flight, 

Himself had seen him dubb'd a knight. 

For the young heir of Branksome's line, 

God be his aid, and God be mine ; 

Through me no friend shall meet his doom ; 

Here, while I live, no foe finds room. 

Then, if thy Lords their purpose urge, 
Take our defiance loud and high ; 

Our slogan is their lyke-wake 4 dirge, 

Our moat, the grave where they shall lie." 

1 In dubious cases, the innocence of Border criminals was 
occasionally referred to their own oath. The form of excusing 
bills, or indictments, by Border-oath, ran thus: "You shall swear 
by heaven above you, hell beneath you, by your part of Paradise, 
by all that God made in six days and seven nights, and by God 
himself, you are whart out sackless of art, part, way, witting, 
ridd, kenning, having, or recetting of any of the goods and cat- 
tels named in this bill. So help you God." — History of Cum- 
berland, Introd. p. xxv. 

• See Appendix, Note E 2. 

3 The battle of Ancram Moor, or Penielheuch, was fought 
A. D. 1545. The English, commanded by Sir Ralph Evers, and 
Sir Brian Latoun, wera totally routed, and both their leaders 
slain in the action. The Scottish army was commanded by 
Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, assisted by the Laird of Buc- 
clench and Norman Lesley. 

4 Lyke-wake, li.e watching a corpse previous to interment 



Cavtn IV. THE LAST MINSTREL. 125 

XXVII. 

Proud she look'd round, applause to claim — 
Then lighten'd Thirlestane's eye of flame ; 

His bugle Wat of Harden blew; 
Pensils and pennons wide were flung, 
To heaven the Border slogan rung, 

" St. Mary for the young Buccleuch !" 
The English war-cry answer'd wide, 

And forward bent each southern spear ; 
Each Kenda) archer made a stride, 

And drew the bowstring to his ear ; 
Each minstrel's war-note loud was blown ; — 
But, ere a gray-goose shaft had flown, 

A horseman gallop'd from the rear. 

XXVIII. 

" Ah ! noble Lords !" he breathless said, 

" What treason has your march betray'd 1 

What make you here, from aid so far, 

Before you walls, around you war? 

Your foemen triumph in the thought, 

That in the toils the lion 's caught. 

Already on dark Ituberslaw 

The Douglas holds his weapon-schaw ; l 

The lances, waving in his train, 

Clothe the dun heath like autumn grain ; 

And on the Liddel's northern strand, 

To bar retreat to Cumberland, 

Lord Maxwell ranks his merry-men good, 

Beneath the eagle and the rood ; 

1 Weapon-schaw, the military array of a county. 
11* 



126 THE LAY OF Canto IV. 

And Jedwood, Eske, and Teviotdale, 

Have to proud Angus come ; 
And all the Merse and Lauderdale 

Have risen with haughty Home. 
An exile from Northumberland, 

In Liddesdale I 've wander'd long ; 
But still my heart was with merry England, 

And cannot brook my country's wrong ; 
And hard I've spurr'd all night, to show 
The mustering of the coming foe." — 

XXIX. 

"And let them come!" fierce Dacre cried; 
" For soon yon crest, my father's pride, 
That swept the shores of Judah's sea, 
And waved in gales of Galilee, 
From Branksome's highest towers display'd, 
Shall mock the rescue's lingering aid! — 
Level each harquebuss on row; 
Draw, merry archers, draw the bow; 
Up, bill-men, to the walls, and cry, 
Dacre for England, win or die!" — 

XXX. 

" Yet hear," quoth Howard, " calmly hear, 
Nor deem my words the words of fear: 
For who, in field or foray slack, 
Saw the blanche lion e'er fall back ? 1 



1 This was the cognizance of the noble house of Howard in all 
'ts branches. The crest, or bearing, of a warrior, was often used 
as a nomme de guerre. Thus Richard III. acquired his well- 
known epithet, The Boar of York. In the violent satire on 
Cardinal Wolsey, written by Roy, commonly, but erroneously 



Canto IV. TH3 LAST MINSTREL. 127 

But thus to risk our Border flower 

In strife against a kingdom's power, 

Ten thousand Scots 'gainst thousands three, 

Certes, were desperate policy. 

Nay, take the terms the Ladye made, 

Ere conscious of the advancing aid : 

Let Musgrave meet fierce Deloraine 1 

nputed to Dr. Bull, the Duke of Buckingham is called the 
utiful Swan, and the Duke of Norfolk, or Earl of Surrey, 
the White Lion. As the book is extremely rare, and the whole 
passage relates to the emblematic interpretation of heraldry, it 
shall be here given at length. 

"The Description of the Armes. 
" Of the proud Cardinal this is the shelde, 
Borne up between two angels of Sathan ; 
The six bloudy axes in a bare felde, 
Sheweth the cruelte of the red man, 
Which hath devoured the Beautiful Swan, 
Mortal enemy unto the Whyte Lion, 
Carter of Vorke, the vyle butcher's sonne. 
The six bulles heddes in a felde blacke, 
Belokeneth his sturdy furiousness, 
Wherefore, the godly lyght to put abacke, 
He bryngeth in his dyvlish darcness; 
The bandog in the middes doth expresse 
The mastiff curre bred in Ypawich towne, 
Gnawynge with his teth a kinges crowne. 
The cloubbe signifieth playne his tiranny, 
Covered over with a Cardinal's hatt, 
Wherein shall he fulfilled the prophecy, 
Aryse up, Jacke, and put on thy salatt, 
For the tyme is come of bagge and walatt. 
The temporall chevalry thus thrown doune, 
Wherefbr, prest, take hede, and beware thy crowne." 
There were two copies of this very scarce satire in the library 
of the late John, Duke of Roxburghe. See an account of it also 
in Sir Egerton Brydges' curious miscellany, the Censura Lite- 
ral- i 'a. 

1 See Appendix, Note F 2. 



128 THE LAV OF Canto IV 

In single fight, and, if he gain, 
He gains for us ; but if he 's cross'd, 
'T is but a single warrior lost : 
The rest, retreating as they came, 
Avoid defeat, and death, and shame." 

XXXI. 

Ill could the haughty Dacre brook 
His brother Warden's sage rebuke. 
And yet his forward step he staid, 
And slow and sullenly obey'd. 
But ne'er again the Border side 
Did these two lords in friendship ride ; 
And this slight discontent, men say, 
Cost blood upon another day. 

XXXII. 

The pursuivant-at-arms again 

Before the castle took his stand ; 

His trumpet call'd, with parleying strain, 
The leaders of the Scottish band ; 
And he defied, in Musgrave's right, 
Stout Deloraine to single fight; 
A gauntlet at their feet he laid, 
And thus the terms of fight he said : — 
" If in the lists good Musgrave's sword 

Vanquish the Knight of Deloraine, 
Your youthful chieftain, Branksome's Lord, 

Shall hostage for his clan remain : 
If Deloraine foil good Musgrave, 
The boy his liberty shall have. 

Howe'er it falls, the English band, 
Unharming Scots, by Scots unharm'd, 
In peaceful march, like men unarm'd 

Shall straight retreat to Cumberland. 



Canto IV. TUE LAST MINSTREL. 129 

XXXIII. 

Unconscious of the near relief, 

The proffer pleased each Scottish chief, 

Though much the Ladye sage gainsay'd ; 
For though their hearts were brave and true, 
From Jed wood's recent sack they knew, 

How tardy was the Regent's aid: 
And you may guess the noble Dame 

Durst not the secret prescience own, 
Sprung from the art she might not name, 

By which the coming help was known. 
Closed was the compact, and agreed 
That lists should be enclosed with speed, 

Beneath the castle on a lawn: 
They fix'd the morrow for the strife, 
On foot, with Scottish axe and knife, 

At the fourth hour from peep of dawn ; 
When Delorainc, from sickness freed, 
Or else a champion in his stead, 
Should for himself and chieftain stand, 
Against stout Musgrave, hand to hand. 

XXXIV. 

I know right well, that in their lay, 
Full many minstrels sing and say, 

Such combat should be made on horse, 
On foaming steed, in full career, 
With brand to aid, when as the spear 

Should shiver in the course : 
But he, the Jovial Harper, 1 taught 
Me, yet a youth, how it was fought, 



See Appendix, Note G 2. 



130 THE LAY OF Canto IV 

In guise, which now I say; 
He knew each ordinance and clause 
Of Black Lord Archibald's battle-laws, 1 

In the old Douglas' day. 
He brook'd not, he, that scoffing tongue 
Should tax his minstrelsy with wrong, 

Or call his song untrue ; 
For this, when they the goblet plied, 
And such rude taunt had chafed his pride, 

The Bard of Reull he slew. 
On Teviot's side, in fight they stood, 
And tuneful hands were stain'd with blood ; 
Where still the thorn's white branches wave, 
Memorial o'er his rival's grave. 

1 The title to the most ancient collection of Border regulations 
runs thus: — "Be it remembered, that, on the 18th day of Decem- 
ber, 1468, Earl William Douglas assembled the whole lords, 
freeholders, and eldest Borderers, that best knowledge had, at the 
college of Linclouden ; and there he caused these lords and Bor- 
derers bodily to be sworn, the Holy Gospel touched, that they, 
justly and truly, after their cunning, should decrete, decern, de- 
liver, and put in order and writing, the statutes, ordinances, and 
uses of marche, that were ordained in Black Archibald of Dou- 
glas's days, and Archibald his son's days, in time of warfare; and 
they came again to him advisedly with these statutes and ordi- 
nances, which were in time of warfare before. The said Earl 
William, seeing the statutes in writing decreed and delivered by 
the said lords and Borderers, thought them right speedful and 
profitable to the Borders ; the which statutes, ordinances, and 
points of warfare, he took, and the whole lords and Borderers he 
caused bodily to be sworn, that th?y should maintain and supply 
him at their goodly power, to do the law upon those that should 
break the statutes underwritten. Also, the said Earl William, 
and lords, and eldest Borderers, made certain points to be treason 
i;i time of warfare to be used, which were no treason before his 
time, but to be treason in his* time, and in all time coming. 1 ' 



Canto IV. THE LAST MINSTREL. 131 

WAV. 
Why should I tell the rigid doom, 
That dragg'd my master to his tomb ; 

How Ousenam's maidens tore their hair, 
Wept till their eyes were dead and dim, 
And wrung their hands for love of him, 

Who died at Jedwood Air? 
He died! — his scholars, one hy one, 
To the cold silent grave are gone; 
And I, alas ! survive alone, 
To muse o'er rivalries of yore, 
And grieve that I shall hear no more 
The strains, with envy heard before ; 
For, with my minstrel brethren fled, 
My jealousy of song is dead. 



He paused: the listening dames again 
Applaud the hoary Minstrel's strain. 
With many a word of kindly cheer, — 
In pity half, and half sincere, — 
Marvell'd the Duchess how so well 
His legendary song could tell — 
Of ancient deeds, so long forgot; 
Of feuds, whose memory was not ; 
Of forests, now laid waste and bare ; 
Of towers, which harbour now the hare ; 
Of manners, long since changed and gone ; 
Of chiefs, who under their grey stone 
So long had slept, that fickle Fame 
Had blotted from her rolls their name, 
And twined round some new minion's head 
The fading wreath for which they bled; 



132 THE LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. Canto IV 

In sooth, 'twas strange, this old man's verse 
Could call them from their marble hearse. 

The Harper smiled, well-pleased; for ne'er 
Was flattery lost on poet's ear: 
A simple race ! they waste their toil 
For the vain tribute of a smile ; 
E'en when in age their flame expires, 
Her dulcet breath can fan its fires: 
Their drooping fancy wakes at praise, 
'And strives to trim the short-lived blaze. 

Smiled then, well-pleased, the Aged Man, 
And thus his tale continued ran. 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO FIFTH. 



135 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO FIFTH. 



T. 

Call it not vain: — they do not err, 
Who say, that when the Poet dies, 

Mute Nature mourns her worshipper, 
And celebrates his obsequies: 

Who say, tall cliff, and cavern lone, 

For the departed Bard make moan ; 

That mountains weep in crystal rill ; 

That flowers in tears of balm distil ; 

Through his loved groves that breezes sigh, 

And oaks, in deeper groan, reply; 

And rivers teach their rushing wave 

To murmur dirges round his grave. 

II. 

Not that, in sooth, o'er mortal urn 
Those things inanimate can mourn ; 
But that the stream, the wood, the gale, 
Is vocal with the plaintive wail 
Of those, who, else forgotten long, 
Lived in the pott's faithful song, 



130 THE LAY OF Canto V 

And, with the poet's parting breath, 

Whose memory feels a second death. 

The Maid's pale shade, who wails her lot, 

That love, true love, should be forgot, 

From rose and hawthorn shakes the tear 

Upon the gentle Minstrel's bier : 

The phantom Knight, his glory fled, 

Mourns o'er the field he heap'd with dead ; 

Mounts the wild blast that sweeps amain, 

And shrieks along the battle-plain : 

The Chief, whose antique crownlet long 

Still sparkled in the feudal song, 

Now, from the mountain's misty throne, 

Sees, in the thanedom once his own, 

His ashes undis.tinguish'd lie, 

His place, his power, his memory die : 

His groans the lonely caverns fill, 

His tears of rage impel the rill : 

All mourn the Minstrel's harp unstrung, 

Their name unknown, their praise unsung. 

III. 

Scarcely the hot assault was staid, 

The terms of truce were scarcely made, 

When they could spy, from Branksome's towers, 

The advancing march of martial powers. 

Thick clouds of dust afar appear'd, 

And trampling steeds were faintly heard ; 

Bright spears, above the columns dun, 

Glanced momentary to the sun ; 

And feudal banners fair display'd 

The bands that moved to Branksome's aid. 



CanlO V. THE LAST MINSTREL. 137 

IV. 

Vails not to tell each hardy clan, 

From the fair Middle Marches came; 
The Bloody Heart blazed in the van, ' 

Announcing Douglas, dreaded name! 1 
Vails not to tell what steeds did spurn, 2 
Where the Seven Spears of Wedderburne 

Their men in battle-order set; 
And S win ton laid the lance in rest, 
That tamed of yore the sparkling crest 

Of Clarence's Plantagenet. 3 
Nor list I say what hundreds more, 
From the rich Merse and Lammermore, 
And Tweed's fair borders, to the war, 
Beneath the crest of Old Dunbar, 

And Hepburn's mingled banners come, 
Down the steep mountain glittering far, 

And shouting still, "A Home! a Home!" 1 

1 The chief of this potent race of heroes, about the date of the 
poem, was Archibald Douglas, seventh Earl of Angus, a man of 
great courage and activity. The Bloody Heart was the well- 
known cognizance of the house of Douglas, assumed from the. 
time of good Lord James, to whose care Robert Bruce committed 
his heart, to be carried to the Holy Land. 

2 Sir David Home of Wedderburn, who was slain in the fatal 
battle of Flodden, left seven sons by his wife, Isabel, daughter of 
Hoppr ingle of Galashiels (now Pringle of Whitebank.) They 
were called the Seven Spears of Wedderburne. 

3 At the battle of Beauge, in France, Thomas, Duke of Cla- 
rence, brother to Henry V., was unhorsed by Sir John Svvinton 
of Swinton, who distinguished him by a coronet set with precious 
stones, which he wore around his helmet. The family of Swinton 
is one of the most ancient in Scotland, and produced many cele- 
brated warriors. 

* The Earls of Home, as descendants of the Dunbars, ancient 
12* 



138 THE LAY OF Canto V. 

V. 

Now squire and knight, from Branksome sent, 

On many a courteous message went; 

To every chief and lord they paid 

Meet thanks for prompt and powerful aid; 

And told them. — how a truce was made, 

And how a day of fight was ta'en 

'Twixt Musgrave and stout Deloraine ; 
And how the Ladye pray'd them dear, 

That all would stay the fight to see, 

And deign, in love and courtesv, 
To taste of Branksome cheer. 
Nor, while they bade to feast each Scot, 
Were England's noble Lords forgot 
Himself, the hoary Seneschal 
Rode forth, in seemly terms to call 
Those gallant foes to Branksome Hall. 
Accepted Howard, than whom knight 
Was never dubb'd, more bold in fight; 
Nor, when from war and armour free, 
More famed for stately courtesy : 
But angry Dacre rather chose 
In his pavilion to repose. 

Earls of March, carried a lion rampant, argent ; but, as a differ- 
ence, changed the colour of the shield from gules to vert, in allu- 
sion to Greenlaw, their ancient possession. The slogan, or war- 
cry, of this powerful family, was, "A Home ! a Home !" It was 
anciently place:! in an escrol above the crest. The helmet is 
armed with a lion's head erased gules, with a cap of state gules, 
turned up ermine. 

The Hepburns, a powerful family in East Lothian, were 
usually in close alliance with the Homes. The chief of this 
clan was Hepburn, Lord of Hail es; a family which terminated 
in the too famous Eai] of Bothwell. 



Canto V. THE LAST MINSTREL. 139 

VI. 

Now, noble Dame, perchance you ask, 

How these two hostile armies met? 
Deeming it were no easy task 

To keep the truce which here was set; 
Where martial spirits, all on fire, 
Breathed only blood and mortal ire. — 
By mutual inroads, mutual blows, 
By habit, and by nation, foes, 

They met on Teviot's strand; 
They met and sate them mingled down, 
Without a threat, without a frown, 

As brothers meet in foreign land: 
The hands, the spear that lately grasp'd, 
Still in the mailed gauntlet clasp'd, 

Were interchanged in greeting dear; 
Visors were raised, and faces shown, 
And many a friend, to friend made known, 

Partook of social cheer. 
Some drove the jolly bowl about; 

With dice and draughts some chased the day; 
And some, with many a merry shout, 
In riot, revelry, and rout, 

Pursued the foot-ball play. 1 



1 The foot-ball was anciently a very favourite sport all through 
Scotland, but especially upon the Borders. Sir John Carmichael 
of Carmichael, Warden of the Middle Marches, was killed in 
1600 by a band of the Armstrongs, returning from a foot-ball 
match/ Sir Robert Carey, in his Memoirs, mentions a great 
meeting, appointed by the Scotch riders to be held at Kelso for 
the purpose of playing at foot-ball, but which terminated in an 
incursion upon England. At present, the foot-ball is often play- 
ed by the inhabitants of adjacent parishes, or of the opposite 



MO THE LAY OF CWnte V 

VII. 

Yet, be it known, had bugles blown, 

Or sign of war been seen, 
Those bands, so fair together ranged, 
Those hands, so frankly interchanged, 

Had dyed with gore the green : 
The merry shout by Teviot-side 
Had sunk in war-cries wild and wide, 

And in the groan of death ; 
And whingers, 1 now in friendship bare 
The social meal to part and share, 

Had found a bloody sheath. . 
'Twixt truce and war, such sudden change 
Was not infrequent, nor held strange, 

In the old Border-day: 2 
But yet on Branksome's towers and town, 
In peaceful merriment, sunk down 

The sun's declining ray. 



banks of a stream. The victory is contested with the utmost 
fury, and very serious accidents have sometimes taken place in 
the struggle. 

1 A sort of knife, or poniard. 

2 Notwithstanding the constant wars upon the Borders, and' the 
occasional cruelties which marked the mutual inroads, the in- 
habitants on either side do not appear to have regarded each 
other with that violent and personal animosity, which might have 
been expected. On the contrary, like the outposts of hostile 
armies, they often carried on something resembling friendly inter- 
course, even in the middle of hostilities; and it is evident, from 
various ordinances against trade and intermarriages, between 
English and Scottish Borderers, that the governments of both 
countries were jealous of their cherishing too intimate a con- 
nexion. Froissart says of both nations, that " Englyshmen on. 
the one party, and Scottes on the other party, 3 re good men of 



Canto V. THE LAST MINSTREL. 14] 

VIII. 
The blithsomc signs of wassol gay 
Decay'd not with the dying day ; 
Soon through the latticed windows tall 
Of lofty Branksome's lordly hall, 
Divided square by shafts of stone, 
Huge flakes of ruddy lustre shone; 
Nor less the gilded rafters rang 
With merry harp and beakers' clang: 
And frequent, on the darkening plain, 

Loud hollo, whoop, or whistle ran, 
As bands, their stragglers to regain, 

Give the shrill watchword of their clan ; ■ 

warre; for when they meet, there is a harde fight without 
sparynge. There is no hoo [truce] between them, as long as 
spears, swords, axes, or daggers, will endure, but lay on eche 
upon uther; and whan they be well beaten, and that the one 
party hath obtained the victory, they then gloryfye so in theyre 
dedes of armies, and are so joyfull, that such as be taken they 
shall be ransomed, or that they go out of the felde ; so that 
shortly eche of them is so content with other, that, at their de- 
partynge, curtyslye they will say, God thank you."— Berners's 
Froissart, vol. ii. p. 153. The Border meetings of truce, which, 
although places of merchandise and merriment, often witnessed 
the most bloody scenes, may serve to illustrate the description in 
the text. They are vividly pourtrayed in the old ballad of the 
Reidsquair. Both parties came armed to a meeting of the 
wardens, yet they intermixed fearlessly and peaceably with each 
other in mutual sports and familiar intercourse, until a casual 
fray arose : — 

" Then was there nought but bow and spear, 
And every man pulled out a brand." 

In the 29th stanza of this canto, there is an attempt to express 
some of the mixed feelings, with which the Borderers on each 
side were led to regard their neighbours. 

1 Patten remarks, with bitter censure, the disorderly conduct 



1 12 THE LAY OF CanU) V 

And revellers, o'er their bowls, proclaim 
Douglas or Dacre's conquering name. 

IX. 

Less frequent heard and fainter still, 
At length the various clamours died : 

And you might hear, from Branksome hill, 
No sound but Teviot's rushing tide ; 

Save when the changing sentinel 

The challenge of his watch could tell ; 



of the English Borderers, who attended the Protector Somerset 
on his expedition against Scotland. " As we wear then a setlingv 
and the tents a setting- up, among all things els commendable in 
our hole journey, one thing seemed to me an intolerable disorder 
and abuse : that whereas always, both in all tounes of war, and 
in all campes of armies, quietness and stilness, without nois, is,. 
principally in the night, after the watch is set, observed, (I nede 
not reason why,) our northern prikers, the Borderers, notwith- 
standyng, with great enormitie, (as thought me,) and not unlike 
(to be playn) unto a masteries hounde howlying in a hie way 
when he hath lost him he waited upon, sum hoopynge, sum 
whistlyng, and most with crying, A Berwyke, a Berwyke ! A 
Fenwyke, a Fenwyke ! A Bulmer ! a Buhner ! or so ootherwise- 
as theyr captains names wear, never lin'de these troublous and 
dangerous noyses all the nyghte longe. They said, they did it 
to find their captain and fellows; but if the souldiers of our oother 
countreys and sheres had used the same maner, in that case we- 
should have oft tymes had the state of our campe more like the- 
outrage of a dissolute huntyng, than the quiet of a well ordered 
armye. It is a feat of war, in mine opinion, that might right 
well be left. I could reherse causes (but yf I take it, they are- 
better unspoken than uttred, unless the fa nt wear sure to be 
amended) that might shew thei move alweis more peral to our 
armie, but in their one nyght's so doynge, than they shew good 
service (as some sey) in a hoole vyage." — Apv.d Dalzeltl's. 
Fragments, p. 75. 



Canto 1 rHE LAST MINSTREL. 143 

And save, where, through the dark profound, 
The clanging axe and hammer's sound 

Rung from the nether lawn ; 
For many a busy hand toil'd there, 
Strong pales to shape, and beams to square, 
The lists' dread barriers to prepare 

Against the morrow's dawn. 

X. 

Margaret from hall did soon retreat, 

Despite the Dame's reproving eye ; 
Nor mark'd she, as she left her seat, 

Full many a stifled sigh ; 
For many a noble warrior strove 
To win the Flower of Teviot's love, 

And many a bold ally. — 
With throbbing head and anxious heart, 
All in her lonely bower apart, 

In broken sleep she lay : 
By times, from silken couch she rose; 
While yet the banner'd hosts repose, 

She view'd the dawning day: 
Of all the hundreds sunk to rest, 
First woke the loveliest and the best. 

XL 

She gazed upon the inner court, 

Which in the tower's tall shadow lay; 
Where coursers' clang, and stamp, and snort, 

Had rung the livelong yesterday ; 
Now still as death; till stalking slow, — 

The jingling spurs announced his tread, — 
A stately warrior passed below ; 

But when he raised his plumed head — 



144 THE LAY OF Carilo V 

Blessed Mary ! can it be ? — 
Secure, as if in Ousenam bowers, 
He walks through Branksome's hostile towers. 

With fearless step and free. 
She dared not sign, she dared not speak — 
Oh ! if one page's slumbers break, 

His blood the price must pay ! 
Not all the pearls Queen Mary wears, 
Not Margaret's yet more precious tears, 

Shall buy his life a day. 

XII. 

Yet was his hazard small; for well 
You may bethink you of the spell 

Of that sly urchin page ; 
This to his lord he did impart, 
And made him seem, by glamour art, 

A knight from Hermitage. 
Unchallenged thus, the warder's post, 
The court, unchallenged, thus he cross'd, 

For all the vassalage: 
But O! what magic's quaint disguise 
Could blind fair Margaret's azure eyes! 

She started from her seat; 
While with surprise and fear she strove 
And both could scarcely master love — 

Lord Henry 's at her feet 

XIII. 

Oft have I mused, what purpose bad 
That foul malicious urchin had 

To bring this meeting round; 
For happy love's a heavenly sight, 
And by a vile malignant sprite 

In such no joy is found* 



CmtO V. THE LAST MINSTREL. 145 

And oft I've deern'd, perchance he thought 
Their erring passion might have wrought 

Sorrow, and sin, and shame ; 
And death to Cranstoun's gallant Knight, 
And to the gentle ladye bright, 

Disgrace, and loss of fame. 
But earthly spirit could not tell 
The heart of them that loved so well. 
True love's the gift which God has given 
To man alone beneath the heaven: 

It is not fantasy's hot fire, 

Whose wishes, soon as granted, fly; 

It liveth not in fierce desire, 

With dead desire it doth not die; 
It is the secret sympathy, 
The silver link, the silken tie, 
Which heart to heart, and mind to mind, 
In body and in soul can bind. — 
Now leave we Margaret and her Knight, 
To tell you of the approaching fight. 

XIV. 

Their warning blasts the bugles blew, 
The pipe's shrill port 1 aroused each clan 

[n haste, the deadly strife to view, 
The trooping warriors eager ran: 

Thick round the lists their lances stood, 

Like blasted pines in Ettrick wood; 

To Branksome many a look they threw, 

The combatants' approach to view, 

And bandied many a word of boast, 

About the knight each favour'd most. 

1 A martial piece of music, adapted to the bagpipes. 
J Vol. I. 13 



14t> THE LAY OF Canto V. 

XV. 

Meantime full anxious was the Dame; 
For now arose disputed claim, 
Of who should fight for Deloraine, 
'Twixt Harden and 'twixt Thirlestaine : 

They 'gan to reckon kin and rent. 
And frowning brow on brow was bent ; 

But yet not long the strife — for, lo ! 
Himself, the Knight of Deloraine, 
Strong, as it seem'd, and free from pain, 

In armour sheath'd from top to toe, 
Appear'd, and craved the combat due. 
The Dame her charm successful knew, 1 
And the fierce chiefs their claims withdrew. 

XVI. 

When for the lists they sought the plain, 
The stately Ladye's silken rein 

Did noble Howard hold ; 
Unarmed by her side he walk'd, 
And much, in courteous phrase, they talked 

Of feats of arms of old. 
Costly his garb — his Flemish ruff 
Fell o'er his doublet, shaped of buff, 

With satin slash'd and lined ; 
Tawny his boot, and gold his spur, 
His cloak was all of Poland fur, 

His hose with silver twined; 
His Bilboa blade, by Marchmen felt, 
Hung in a broad and studded belt ; 
Hence, in rude phrase, the Borderers still 
Call'd noble Howard, Belted Will. 

1 See Canto 3. Stanza xxiih 



Canto V. rHE LAST MINSTRUL. 147 

XVII. 

Behind Lord Howard and the Dame, 
Fair Margaret on her palfrey came, 

Whose foot-cloth swept the ground : 
White was her wimple, and her veil, 
And her loose locks, a chaplet pale 

Of whitest roses bound; 
The lordly Angus, by her side, 
In courtesy to cheer her tried ; 
Without his aid, her hand in vain 
Had strove to guide her broider'd rein. 
He deem'd, she shudder'd at the sight 
Of warriors met for mortal fight; 
But cause of terror, all unguess'd, 
Was fluttering in her gentle breast, 
When, in their chairs of crimson placed, 
The Dame and she the barriers graced. 

XVIIL 

Prize of the field, the young Buccleuch, 
An English knight led forth to view; 
Scarce rued the boy his present plight, 
So much he long'd to see the fight. 
Within the lists, in knightly pride, 
High Home and haughty Dacre ride; 
Their leading stalls of steel they wield 
As marshals of the mortal field ; 
While to each knight their care assign'd 
Like vantage of the sun and wind. 
Then heralds hoarse did loud proclaim, 
In King and Queen, and Warden's name, 

That none, while lasts the strife, 
Should dare, by look, or sign, or word, 



148 THE LAY OF Canto V 

Aid to a champion to afford, 

On peril of his life ; 
And not a breath the silence broke, 
Till thus the alternate Heralds spoke:— 

XIX. 

ENGLISH HERALD. 

" Here standeth Richard of Musgrave, 

Good knight and true, and freely born,. 
Amends from Deloraine to crave, 

For foul despiteous scathe and scorn. 
He sayeth, that William of Deloraine 

Is traitor false by Border laws; 
This with his sword he will maintain, 

So help him God, and his good cause V* 

XX. 

SCOTTISH HERALD. 

" Here standeth William of Deloraine, 
Good knight and true, of noble strain, 
Who sayeth, that foul treason's stain, 

Since he bore arms, ne'er soil'd his coat; 
And that, so help him God above! 
He will on Musgra-ve's body prove, 
He lies most foully in his throat." — 

LORD DACRE. 

"Forward, brave champions, to the fight T 
Sound trumpets !" 

LORD HOME. 

"God defend the right!"— 



Then, Teviot! how thine echoes rang, 
When bugle-sound and trumpet-clangs 



Canto V. THE LAST MINSTREL. 149 

Let loose the martial foes, 
And in mid list, with shield poised high, 
And measured step and wary eye, 

The combatants did close. 

XXL 

111 would it suit your gentle ear, 

Ye lovely listeners, to hear 

How to the axe the helms did sound, 

And blood pour'd down from many a wound; 

For desperate was the strife and long, 

And either warrior fierce and strong. 

But, were each dame a listening knight, 

I well could tell how warriors fight! 

For I have seen war's lightning flashing, 

Seen the claymore with bayonet clashing, 

Seen through red blood the war-horse dashing 

And scorn'd, amid the reeling strife, 

To yield a step for death or life. — 

XXII. 

'Tis done, 'tis done! that fatal blow 
Has stretched him on the bloody plain; 
He strives to rise — Brave Musgrave, no! 
Thence never shalt thou rise again ! 
He chokes in blood — some friendly hand 
Undo the visor's barred band, 
Unfix the gorget's iron clasp, 
And give him room for life to gasp ! — 
O, bootless aid ! — haste, holy Friar, 
Haste, ere the sinner shall expire ! 
Of all his guilt let him be shriven, 
4nd smooth his path from earth to heaven ! 
13* 



150 THE LAY OF Canto V 

XXIII. 

In haste the holy Friar sped; — 
His naked foot was dyed with red y 

As through the lists he ran ; 
Unmindful of the shouts on high, 
That hail'd the conqueror's victory, 

He raised the dying man ; 
Loose waved his silver beard and hair, 
As o'er him he kneel'd down in prayer:, 
And still the crucifix on high 
He holds before his darkening eye ; 
And still he bends an anxious ear, 
His faltering penitence to hear; 

Still props him from the bloody sod 7 
Still, even when soul and body part, 
Pours ghostly comfort on his heart, 

And bids him trust in God ! 
Unheard he prays; — the death-pang's o'er! 
Richard of Musgrave breathes no more. 

XXIV. 

As if exhausted in the fight, 
Or musing o'er the piteous sight, 

The silent victor stands; 
His beaver did he not unclasp, 
Mark'd not the shouts, felt not the grasp 

Of gratulating hands. 
When lo ! strange cries of wild surprise, 
Mingled with seeming terror, rise 

Among the Scottish bands; 
And all, amid the throng'd array, 
In panic haste gave open way 
To a half-naked ghastly man, 



Canto V. THE LAST MINSTREL. ' 151 

Who downward from the castle ran: 
He cross'd the barriers at a bound, 

And wild and haggard look'd around, 
As dizzy, and in pain; 

And all, upon the armed ground, 
Knew William of Deloraine ! 
Each ladye sprung from seat with speed: 
Vaulted each marshal from his steed; 

" And who art thou," they cried, 
"Who hast this battle fought and won?" — 
His plumed helm was soon undone — 

" Cranstoun of Teviot-side ! 
For this fair prize I 've fought and won," — 
And to the Ladye led her son. 

XXV. 

Full oft the rescued boy she kiss'd, 
And often press'd him to her breast; 
For, under all her dauntless show, 
Her heart had throbb'd at every blow; 
Yet not Lord Cranstoun deign'd she greet, 
Though low he kneeled at her feet. 
Me lists not tell what words were made, 
What Douglas, Home, and Howard, said— 

— For Howard was a generous foe — 
And how the clan united pray'd 

The Ladye would the feud forego, 
And deign to bless the nuptial hour 
Of Cranstoun's Lord and Teviot's Flower. 

XXVI. 

She look'd to river, look'd to hill, 
Thought on the Spirit's prophecy, 



152 THE LAY OF Canto V. 

Then broke her silence stern and still, — 

" Not you, but Fate, has vanquish'd me ; 
Their influence kindly stars may shower 
On Teviot's tide and Branksome's tower, 

For pride is quell'd, and love is free." — 
She took fair Margaret by the hand, 
Who breathless, trembling, scarce might stand ; 

That hand to Cranstoun's lord gave she ; — 
" As I am true to thee and thine, 
Do thou be true to me and mine ! 

This clasp of love our bond shall be ; 
For this is your betrothing day, 
And all these noble lords shall stay, 

To grace it with their company." — 

XXVII. 

All as they left the listed plain, 

Much of the story she did gain ; 

How Cranstoun fought with Deloraine, 

And of his page, and of the Book 

Which from the wounded knight he took ; 

And how he sought her castle high, 

That morn by help of gramarye; 

How in Sir William's armour dight, 

Stolen by his page, while slept the knight, 

He took on him the single fight. 

But half his tale he left unsaid, 

And linger'd till he join'd the maid. — 

Cared not the La dye to betray 

Her mystic arts in view of day ; 

But well she thought, ere midnight came, 

Of that strange page the pride to tame, 



Canto V. THE LAST MINSTREL. 153 

From his foul hands the Book to save, 

And send it back to Michael's grave. — 

Needs not to tell each tender word 

' Twixt Margaret and 'twixt Cranstoun's lord ; 

Nor how she told of former woes, 

And how her bosom fell and rose, 

While he and Musgrave bandied blows. — 

Needs not these lovers' joys to tell: 

One day, fair maids, you'll know them well. 

XXVIII. 

William of Deloraine, some chance 
Had waken'd from his deathlike trance ; 

And taught that, in the listed plain,. 
Another, in his arms and shield, 
Against fierce Musgrave axe did wield, 

Under the name of Deloraine. 
Hence, to the field, unarm'd, he ran, 
And hence his presence scared the clan, 
W T ho held him for some fleeting wraith, 1 
And not a man of blood and breath. 

Not much this new ally he loved, 

Yet, when he saw what hap had proved, 
He greeted him right heartilie: 
He would not waken old debate, 
For he was void of rancorous hate, 

Though rude and scant of courtesy; 
In raids he spilt but seldom blood, 
Unless when men-at-arms withstood, 
Or, as was meet, for deadly feud. 
He ne'er bore grudge for stalwart blow, 
Ta'en in fair fight from gallant foe : 

1 The spectral apparition of a living person. 



154 THE LAY OF Canto V. 

And so 'twas seen of him, e'en now, 

When on dead Musgrave he look'd down, 
Grief darken'd on his rugged brow, 
Though half disguised with a frown ; 
And thus while sorrow bent his head, 
His foeman's epitaph he made. 

XXIX. 

" Now, Richard Musgrave, liest thou here I 

I ween, my deadly enemy ; 
For, if I slew thy brother dear, 

Thou slew'st a sister's son to me ; 
And when I lay in dungeon dark, 

Of Naworth Castle, long months three, 
Till ransom'd for a thousand mark, 

Dark Musgrave, it was long of thee. 
And, Musgrave, could our fight be tried, 

And thou wert now alive, as I, 
No mortal man should us divide, 

Till one, or both of us, did die: 
Yet rest thee God ! for well I know 

1 ne'er shall find a nobler foe. 
In all the northern counties here, 
Whose word is Snaffle, spur, and spear, 1 
Thou wert the best to follow gear ! 
'Twas pleasure, as we look'd behind, 

To see how thou the chase couldst wind. 
Cheer the dark blood-hound on his way, 
And with the bugle rouse the fray ! 2 

• " The lands, that over Ouse to Berwick forth do bear, 
Have for their blazon had, the snaffle, spur, and spear." 

Poly- Albion, Song 13. 

2 The pursuit of Border marauders was followed by the injured 
party and his friends with blood-hounds and bugle-horn, and was 



Canto V. THE LAST MINSTREL.' 155 

I 'd give the lands of Deloraine, 
Dark Musgrave were alive again." — 

XXX. 

So mournd he, till Lord Dacre's band, 

Were bowning back to Cumberland. 

They raised brave Musgrave from the field, 

And laid him on his bloody shield; 

On levell'd lances, four and four, 

By turns, the noble burden bore. 

called the hot-trod. He was entitled, if his dog could trace the 
scent, to follow the invaders into the opposite kingdom ; a privi- 
lege which often occasioned bloodshed. In addition to what has 
been said of the blood-hound, I may add, that the breed w r as kept 
up by the Buccleuch family on their Border estates till within the 
18th century. A person was alive in the memory of man, who 
remembered a blood-hound being kept at Eldinhope, in Ettrick 
Forest, for whose maintenance the tenant had an allowance of 
meal. At that time the sheep were always watched at night. 
Upon one occasion, when the duty had fallen on the narrator, then 
a lad, he became exhausted with fatigue, and fell asleep upon a 
bank, near sun-rising. Suddenly he was awakened by the tread 
of horses, and saw five men, well mounted and armed, ride 
briskly over the edge of the hill. They stopped and looked at 
the flock ; but the day was too far broken to admit the chance 
of their carrying any of them off. One of them, in spite, leaped 
from his horse, and coming to the shepherd, seized him by the 
belt he wore round his waist ; and setting his foot upon his body, 
pulled it till it broke, and carried it away with him. They rode 
off at the gallop ; and, the shepherd giving the alarm, the blood- 
hound was turned loose, and the people in the neighbourhood 
alarmed. The marauders, however, escaped, notwithstanding a 
sharp pursuit. This circumstance serves to show how very long 
the license of the Borderers continued in some degree to manifest 
itself. 



150 « THE LAI OF Canto V 

Before, at times, upon the gale, 
Was heard the Minstrel's plaintive wail ; 
Behind, four priests, in sable stole, 
Sung requiem for the warrior's soul: 
Around, the horsemen slowly rode; 
With trailing pikes the spearmen trode; 
And thus the gallant knight they bore, 
Through Liddesdale to Leven's shore; 
Thence to Holme Coltrame's lofty nave, 
And laid him in his father's grave. 



The harp's wild notes, though hush'd the song, 

The mimic march of death prolong ; 

Now seems it far, and now a-near, 

Now meets, and now eludes, the ear ; 

Now seems some mountain side to sweep, 

Now faintly dies in valley deep ; 

Seems now as if the Minstrel's wail, 

Now the sad requiem, loads the gale; 

Last, o'er the warrior's closing grave, 

Rung the full choir in choral stave. 

After due pause, they bade him tell, 
Why he, who touch'd the harp so well, 
Should thus, with ill-rewarded toil, 
Wander a poor and thankless soil, 
When the more generous Southern Land 
Would well requite his skilful hand. 

The Aged Harper, howsoe'er 

His only friend, his harp, was dear, 



Canto V. THE LAST MINSTREL. 157 

Liked not to hear it rank'd so high 
Above his flowing poesy: 
Less liked he still, that scornful jeer 
Misprised the land he loved so dear; 
High was the sound, as thus again 
The Bard resumed his minstrel strain. 

Vol. I. 14 

K 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO SIXTH. 



161 



THE 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



CANTO SIXTH. 



I. 

Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said, 

This is my own, my native land ! 
Whose heart hath ne'er within him hurn'd, 
As home his footsteps he hath turn'd, 

From wandering on a foreign strand ! 
If such there breathe, go, mark him well ; 
For him no Minstrel raptures swell ; 
High though his titles, proud his name, 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim ; 
Despite those titles, power, and pelf, 
The wretch, concentred all in self, 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, 
Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung. 

II. 

O Caledonia ! stern and wild, 
Meet nurse for a poetic child ! 
14* 



162 THE LAY OF Canto VI. 

Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, 

Land of the mountain and the flood, 

Land of my sires ! what mortal hand 

Can e'er untie the filial band, 

That knits me to thy rugged strand! 

Still, as I view each well-known scene, 

Think what is now, and what hath been, 

Seems as, to me, of all bereft, 

Sole friends thy woods and streams were left; 

And thus I love them better still, 

Even in extremity of ill. 

By Yarrow's streams still let me stray, 

Though none should guide my feeble way ; 

Still feel the breeze down Ettrick break, 

Although it chill my wither'd cheek ; 

Still lay my head by Teviot Stone, 

Though there, forgotten and alone, 

The Bard may draw his parting groan. 

III. 

Not scorn'd like me ! to Branksome Hall 
The Minstrels came, at festive call; 
Trooping they came, from near and far, 
The jovial priests of mirth and war; 
Alike for feast and fight prepared, 
Battle and banquet both they shared. 
Of late, before each martial clan, 
They blew their death-note in the van, 
But now for every merry mate, 
Rose the portcullis' iron grate ; 
They sound the pipe, they strike the string, 
They dance, they revel, and they sing, 
Till the rude turrets shake and ring. 



Canto VI. THE LAST MINSTREL. 163 

IV. 

Me lists not at this tide declare 

The splendour of the spousal rite, 
How muster'd in the chapel fair 

Both maid and matron, squire and knight; 
Me lists not tell of owches rare, 
Of mantles green, and braided hair, 
And kirtles furr'd with miniver; 
What plumage waved the altar round, 
How spurs and ringing chainlets sound: 
And hard it were for bard to speak 
The changeful hue of Margaret's cheek ; 
That lovely hue which comes and flies, 
As awe and shame alternate rise ! 

V. 

Some bards have sung, the Ladye high 
Chapel or altar came not nigh ; 
Nor durst the rites of spousal grace, 
So much she fear'd each holy place. 
False slanders these: — I trust right well 
She wrought not by forbidden spell; 1 
For mighty words and signs have power 
O'er sprites in planetary hour : 
Yet scarce I praise their venturous part, 
Who tamper with such dangerous art. 

But this for faithful truth I say, 
The Ladye by the altar stood, 

Of sable velvet her array, 

And on her head a crimson hood, 
With pearls embroider'd and entwined, 
Guarded with gold, with ermine lined, 

1 [See Appendix, Note H 2.] 



1(34 THE LAY OF Canto VI 

A merlin sat upon her wrist, 1 
Held by a leash of silken twist. 

VI. 

The spousal rites were ended soon: 
'T was now the merry hour of noon, 
And in the lofty arched hall 
Was spread the gorgeous festival. 
Steward and squire, with heedful haste, 
Marshall'd the rank of every guest; 
Pages, with ready blade, were there, 
The mighty meal to carve and share : 
O'er capon, heron-shew, and crane, 
And princely peacock's gilded train, 2 



■ 1 A merlin, or sparrow-hawk, was actually carried by ladies of 
rank, as a falcon was, in time of peace, the constant attendant 
of a knight or baron. See Latham on Falconry. — Godscroft 
relates, that when Mary of Lorraine was regent, she pressed the 
Earl of Angus to admit a royal garrison into his Castle of Tantal- 
lon. To this he returned no direct answer ; but, as if apostro- 
phizing a goss-hawk, which sat on his wrist, and which he was 
feeding during the Queen's speech, he exclaimed, " The devil's 
in this greedy glede, she will never be full." — Hume's History 
of the House of Douglas, 1743, vol. ii. p. 131. Barclay com- 
plains of the common and indecent practice of bringing hawks 
and hounds into churches. 

2 The peacock, it is well known, was considered, during the 
times of chivalry, not merely as an exquisite delicacy, but as a 
dish of peculiar solemnity. After being roasted, it was again 
decorated with its plumage, and a sponge, dipped in lighted 
spirits of wine, was placed in its bill. When it was introduced 
on days of grand festival, it was the signal for the adventurous 
knights to take upon them vows to do some deed of chivalry, 
" before the peacock and the ladies." 



Canto 17. THE LAST MINSTREL. 165 

And o'er the boar-head, garnish'd brave, 1 

And cygnet from St. Mary's wave ; 2 

O'er ptarmigan and venison, 

The priest had spoke his benison. 

Then rose the riot and the din, 

Above, beneath, without, within ! 

For, from the lofty balcony, 

Rang trumpet, shalm, and psaltery : 

Their clanging bowls old warriors quafPd, 

Loudly they spoke, and loudly laugh'd ; 

Whisper'd young knights, in tone more mild, 

To ladies fair, and ladies smiled. 

The hooded hawks, high perch'd on beam, 

The clamour join'd with whistling scream, 

And flapp'd their wings, and shook their bells, 

In concert with the stag-hounds' yells. 

Round go the flasks of ruddy wine, 

From Bourdeaux, Orleans, or the Rhine ; 

Their tasks the busy sewers ply, 

And all is mirth and revelry. 

VII. 

The Goblin Page, omitting still 

No opportunity of ill, 

Strove now, while blood ran hot and high, 

To rouse debate and jealousy ; 

Till Conrad, Lord of Wolfenstein, 

By nature fierce, and warm with wine, 

1 The boar's head was also a dish of feudal splendour. In 
Scotland it was sometimes surrounded with little banners, dis- 
playing- the colours and achievements of the baron at whose 
board it was served. — Pinkerton's History, vol. i. p. 432. 

2 There are often flights of wild swans upon St. Mary's Lake 
at the head of the river Yarrow. 



106 THE LAY OF Canto VI. 

And now in humour highly cross'd, 

About some steeds his band had lost, 

High words to words succeeding still, 

Smote, with his gauntlet, stout Hunthill ; * 

A hot and hardy Rutherford, 

Whom men called Dickon Draw-the-sword. 

He took it on the page's saye, 

Hunthill had driven these steeds away. 

Then Howard, Home, and Douglas rose, 

The kindling discord to compose: 

Stern Rutherford right little said, 

But bit his glove, 2 and shook his head. — 

1 The Rutherfords of Hunthill were an ancient race of Border 
Lairds, whose names occur in history, sometimes as defending 
the frontier against the English, sometimes as disturbing the 
peace of their own country. Dickon Draw-the-sword was son 
to the ancient warrior, called in tradition the Cock of Hunthill, 
remarkable for leading into battle nine sons, gallant warriors, all 
sons of the aged champion. Mr. Rutherford, late of New York, 
in a letter to the editor, soon after these songs were published, 
quoted, when upwards of eighty years old, a ballad apparently 
the same with the Raid of the Reidsquare, but which apparently 
is lost, except the following lines : — 

" Bauld Rutherford he was fu' stout, 
With all his nine sons him about, 
He brought the lads of Jedbrught out, 
And bauldly fought that day." 

2 To bite the thumb, or the glove, seems not to have been 
considered, upon the Border, as a gesture of contempt, though so 
used by Shakspeare, but as a pledge of mortal revenge. It is yet 
remembered, that a young gentleman of Teviotdale, on the morn- 
ing after a hard drinking-bout, observed that he had bitten his 
glove. He instantly demanded of his companion, with whom he 
had quarrelled 1 and learning that he had had words with one of 
the party, insisted on instant satisfaction, asserting, that though 
ne remembered nothing of the dispute, yet he was sure he never 



Canio VI. THE LAST MINSTREL. 167 

A fortnight thence, in Inglewood, 

Stout Conrade, cold, and drench'd in blood, 

His bosom gored with many a wound, 

Was by a woodman's lyme-dog found ; 

Unknown the manner of his death, 

Gone was his brand, both sword and sheath ; 

But ever from that time, 'twas said, 

That Dickon wore a Cologne blade. 

VIII. 

The dwarf, who fear'd his master's eye 

Might his foul treachery espie, 

Now sought the castle buttery, 

Where many a yeoman, bold and free, 

Revell'd as merrily and well 

As those that sat in lordly selle. 

Watt Tinlinn, there, did frankly raise 

The pledge to Arthur Fire-the-braes ; ' 

And he, as by his breeding bound, 

To Howard's merry-men sent it round. 

To quit them, on the English side, 

Red Roland Forster loudly cried, 

" A deep carouse to yon fair bride !" — 

At every pledge, from vat and pail, 

Foam'd forth in floods the nut-brown ale ; 

While shout the riders every one ; 

Such day of mirth ne'er cheer'd their clan, 

would have bit his glove unless he had received some unpardona- 
ble insult. He fell in the duel, which was fought near Selkirk, 
in 1721. 

1 The person bearing this redoubtable nom de guerre was an 
Elliot, and resided at Thorleshope, in Liddesdale. He occurs in 
the list of Border riders, in 1597. 



1(58 TUti LAY OF Canto XL 

Since old Buccleugh the name did gain, 
When in the cleuch the buck was ta'en. 1 

IX. 

The wily page, with vengeful thought, 
Remember'd him of Tinlinn's yew, 

And swore, it should be dearly bought 
That ever he the arrow drew. 

First, he the yeoman did molest, 

With bitter gibe and taunting jest; 

Told, how he fled at Solway strife, 

And how Hob Armstrong cheer'd his wife; 

Then, shunning still his powerful arm, 

At unawares he wrought him harm; 

From trencher stole his choicest cheer, 

Dash'd from his lips his can of beer; 

Then, to his knee sly creeping on, 

With bodkin pierced him to the bone: 

The venom'd wound, and festering joint, 

Long after rued that bodkin's point. 

The startled yeoman swore and spurn'd, 

And board and flagons overturn'd. 

Riot and clamour wild began ; 

Back to the hall the Urchin ran; 

Took in a darkling nook his post, 

And grinn'd and mutter'd, "Lost! lost! lost!" 

X. 

By this the Dame, lest farther fray 
Should mar the concord of the day, 
Had bid the Minstrels tune their lay. 
And first stept forth old Albert Graeme, 



1 [See Appendix, Note I 2.] 



Canto I/. THE LAST MINSTREL. 109 

The Minstrel of that ancient name: 1 

Was none who struck the harp so well, 

Within the Land Debateable; 

Well friended, too, his hardy kin, 

Whoever lost, were sure to win ; 

They sought the beeves that made their broth, 

In Scotland and in England both. 

In homely guise, as nature bade, 

His simple song the Borderer said. 

1 " John Grahame, second son of Malice, Earl of Monleith, 
commonly surnamed John ivith the Bright Sivord, upon some 
displeasure risen against him at court, retired with many of his 
clan and kindred into the English Borders, in the reign of King 
Henry the Fourth, where they seated themselves ; and many of 
their posterity have continued there ever since. Mr. Sandford, 
speaking of them, says, (which indeed was applicable to most of 
the Borderers on both sides,) ' They were all stark rnoss-troopers, 
and arrant thieves: Both to England and Scotland outlawed; 
yet sometimes connived at, because they gave intelligence forth 
of Scotland, and would raise 400 horse at any time upon a raid 
of the English into Scotland. A saying is recorded of a mother 
to her son, (which is now become proverbial,) Ride, Rowley, 
hough's i* the pot : that is, the last piece of beef was in the pot, 
and therefore it was high time for him to go and fetch more.' " — 
Introduction to the History of Cumberland. 

The residence of the Graemes being chiefly in the Debateable 
Land, so called because it was claimed by both kingdoms, their 
depredations extended both to England and Scotland, with impu- 
nity ; for as both wardens accounted them the proper subjects of 
their own prince, neither inclined to demand reparation for their 
excesses from the opposite officers, which would have been an 
acknowledgment of his jurisdiction over them. — See a long 
correspondence on this subject betwixt Lord Dacre and the 
English Privy Council, in Introduction to History of Cumberland. 
The Debateable Land was finally divided betwixt England and 
Scotland, by commissioners appointed by both nations. 

Vol. I. 15 



170 THE LAY OF Canto M 

XL 

ALBERT GIUEME. 

It was an English ladye bright, 

(The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall, 1 ) 

And she would marry a Scottish knight, 
For Love will still be lord of all. 

Blithely they saw the rising sun, 

When he shone fair on Carlisle wall ; 

But they were sad ere day was done, 
Though Love was still the lord of all. 

Her sire gave brooch and jewel fine, 

Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall; 

Her brother gave but a flask of wine, 
For ire that Love was lord of all. 

For she had lands, both meadow and lea, 
W'here the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall, 

And he swore her death, ere he would see 
A Scottish knight the lord of all ! 

XII. 

That wine she had not tasted well, 
(The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,) 

When dead, in her true love's arms, she fell, 
For Love was still the lord of all ! 



1 This burden is adopted, with some alteration, from an old 
Scottish song, beginning thus : — 

" She lean'd her back against a thorn, 

The sun shines fair on Carlisle wa' : 
And there she has her young habe bom, 

And the lyon shall be lord of a'." 



Canlo VI. THE LAST MINSTREL. 171 

He pierced her brother to the heart, 

Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall : — 

So perish all would true love part, 
That Love may still be lord of all. 

And then he took the cross divine, 

(Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,) 

And died for her sake in Palestine, 
So Love was still the lord of all. 

Now all ye lovers, that faithful prove, 
(The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,) 

Pray for their souls who died for love, 
For Love shall still be lord of all ! 

XIII. 

As ended Albert's simple lay, 

Arose a bard of loftier port; 
For sonnet, rhyme, and roundelay, 

Renown'd in haughty Henry's court : 
There rung thy harp, unrivall'd long, 
Fitztraver of the silver song ! 

The gentle Surrey loved his lyre — 
Who has not heard of Surrey's fame? 1 

1 The gallant and unfortunate Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, 
was unquestionably the most accomplished cavalier of his time : 
and his sonnets display beauties which would do honour to a 
more polished age. He was beheaded on Tower-hill in 1540 ; a 
victim to the mean jealousy of Henry VIII., who could not bear 
6o brilliant a character near his throne. 

The song of the supposed bard is founded on an incident said 

to have happened to the Earl in his travels. Cornelius Agrippa, 

the celebrated alchemist, showed him, in a looking-glass, the 

lovely Geraldine, to whose service he had devoted his pen and 

L 



172 THE LAY OF Canto VI. 

His was the hero's soul of fire, 

And his the bard's immortal name, 
And his was love, exalted high 
By all the glow of chivalry. 

XIV. 

They sought, together, climes afar, 

And oft, within some olive grove, 
When even came with twinkling star, 

They sung of Surrey's absent love. 
His step the Italian peasant stay'd, 

And deem'd, that spirits from on high, 
Round where some hermit saint was laid, 

Were breathing heavenly melody ; 
So sweet did harp and voice combine, 
To praise the name of Geraldine. 

XV. 

Fitztraver! O what tongue may say 
The pangs thy faithful bosom knew, 

When Surrey, of the deathless lay, 
Ungrateful Tudor's sentence slew? 

Regardless of the tyrant's frown, 

His harp call'd wrath and vengeance down. 

He left, for Naworth's iron towers, 

Windsor's green glades, and courtly bowers, 

And faithful to his patron's name, 

With Howard still Fitztraver came; 

Lord William's foremost favourite he, 

And chief of all his minstrelsy. 

his sword. The vision represented her as indisposed, and reclining 
upon a conch, reading her lover's verses by the light of a waxen 
taper. 



Canto VI. THE LAST MINSTREL. 173 

XVI. 

FlTZTRAVER. 

'T was All-soul's eve, and Surrey's heart beat high 

He heard the midnight bell with anxious start, 
Which told the mystic bour, approaching nigh, 

When wise Cornelius promised, by his art, 
To show to him the ladye of his heart, 

Albeit betwixt them roar'd the ocean grim ; 
Yet so the sage had bight to play his part, 

That he should see her form in life and limb, 
And mark, if still she loved, and still she thought of him. 

XVII. 
Dark was the vaulted room of gramarye, 

To which the wizard led the gallant Knight, 
Save that before a mirror, huge and high, 

A hallow'd taper shed a glimmering light 
On mystic implements of magic might ; 

On cross, and character, and talisman, 
And almagest, and altar, nothing bright : 

For fitful was the lustre, pale and wan, 
As watchlight by the bed of some departing man. 

XVIII. 

But soon, within that mirror huge and high, 

Was seen a self-emitted light to gleam ; 
And forms upon its breast the Earl 'gan spy, 

Cloudy and indistinct, as feverish dream ; 
Till, slow arranging, and defined, they seem 

To form a lordly and a lofty room, 
Part lighted by a lamp with silver beam, 
Placed by a couch of Agra's silken loom, 
And part by moonshine pale, and part was hid in 
gloom. 
15* 



174 THE LAY OF Canto VI. 

XIX. 

Fair all the pageant — but how passing fair 

The slender form, which lay on couch of Ind ! 
O'er her white bosom stray'd her hazel hair, 

Pale her dear cheek, as if for love she pined ; 
All in her night-robe loose she lay reclined, 

And, pensive, read from tablet eburnine, 
Some strain that seem'd her inmost soul to find : — 

That favour'd strain was Surrey's raptured line, 
That fair and lovely form, the Lady Geraldine. 

XX. 

Slow roll'd the clouds upon the lovely form, 

And swept the goodly vision all away — 
So royal envy roll'd the murky storm 

O'er my beloved Master's glorious day. 
Thou jealous, ruthless tyrant ! Heaven repay 

On thee, and on thy children's latest line, 
The wild caprice of thy despotic sway, 

The gory bridal bed, the plunder'd shrine, 
The murder'd Surrey's blood, the tears of Geraldine ! 

XXI. 

Both Scots, and Southern chiefs, prolong 
Applauses of Fitzraver's song; 
These hated Henry's name as death, 
And those still held the ancient faith. — 
Then, from his seat, with lofty air, 
Hose Harold, bard of brave St. Clair; 
St. Clair, who, feasting high at Home, 
Had with that lord to battle come. 
Harold was born where restless seas 
Howl round the storm-swept Orcades; 1 

1 [See Appendix, Note K 2.] 



Canlo VI THE LAST MINSTREL. 175 

Where erst St. Clairs held princely sway 

O'er isle and islet, strait and bay; — ■ 

Still nods their palace to its fall, 

Thy pride and sorrow, fair Kirkwall! — ' 

Thence oft he mark'd fierce Pentland rave, 

As if grim Odin rode her wave ; 

And watch'd, the whilst, with visage pale, 

And throbbing heart, the struggling sail; 

For all of wonderful and wild 

Had rapture for the lonely child. 

XXII. 

And much of wild and wonderful 
In these rude isles might fancy cull ; 
For thither came, in times afar, 
Stern Lochlin's sons of roving war, 
The Norsemen, train'd to spoil and blood, 
Skill'd to prepare the raven's food; 
Kings of the main their leaders brave, 
Their barks the dragons of the wave. 2 
And there, in many a stormy vale, 
The Scald had told his wondrous tale; 
And many a Runic column high 
Had witness'd grim idolatry. 
And thus had Harold, in his youth, 
Learn'd many a Saga's rhyme uncouth, — 
Of that Sea-Snake, tremendous curl'd, 
Whose monstrous circle girds the world ; 3 

1 [See Appendix, Note L 2.] 

2 The chiefs of the Vakingr, or Scandinavian pirates, assumed 
the title of Scekonungr, or Sea-kings. Ships, in the inflated 
language of the Scalds, are often termed the serpents of the 
ocean. 

3 The jormungandr, or Snake of the Ocean, whose folds sur- 



170 THE LAY OF Canto VL 

Of those dread Maids, 1 whose hideous yell 
Maddens the battle's bloody swell ; 
Of Chiefs, who, guided through the gloom 
By the pale death-lights of the tomb, 
Ransack'd the graves of warriors old, 
Their falchions wrench'd from corpses' hold, 2 
Waked the deaf tomb with war's alarms, 
And bade the dead arise to arms ! 
With war and wonder all on flame, 
To Roslin's bowers young Harold came, 
Where by sweet glen and greenwood tree, 
He Iearn'd a milder minstrels} 7 ; 

round the earth, is one of the wildest fictions of the Edda. \l 
was very nearly caught by the god Thor, who went to fish for it 
with a hook baited with a bull's head. In the battle betwixt the 
evil demons and the divinities of Odin, which is to precede the 
Ragnarockr, or Twilight of the Gods,, this Snake is to act a con- 
spicuous part. 

1 These were the Valcyriur, or Selectors of the Slain, des- 
patched by Odin from Valhaila, to choose those who were to die, 
and to distribute the contest. They are well known to the 
English reader, as Gray's Fatal Sisters. 

2 The northern warriors were usually entombed with their 
arms, and their other treasures. Thus Angantyr, before com- 
mencing the duel in which he was slain, stipulated, that if he 
fell, his sword Tyrfing should be buried with him. His daughter, 
Hervor, afterwards took it from his tomb. The dialogue which 
passed betwixt her and Angantyr's spirit on this occasion has been 
often translated. The whole history may be found in the Her- 
varar-Saga. Indeed, the ghosts of the northern warriors were 
not wont tamely to suffer their tombs to be plundered ; and hence 
the mortal heroes had an additional temptation to attempt such 
adventures ; for they held nothing more worthy of their valour 
than to encounter supernatural beings. — Bartholinus De causis 
contemptce a Danis mortis^ lib. i. cap. 2, 9, 10, 13. 



Canto VI. THE LAST MINSTREL. 177 

Yet something of the Northern spell 
Mix'd with the softer numbers well. 

XXIII. 

HAROLD. 

listen, listen, ladies gay ! 

No haughty feat of arms I tell; 
Soft is the note, and sad the lay, 
That mourns the lovely Rosa belle. 1 

— " Moor, moor the barge, ye gallant erew ! 

And, gentle ladye, deign to stay ! 
Rest thee in Castle Ravensheuch, 2 

Nor tempt the stormy firth to-day. 

' The blackening wave is edged with white ; 

To inch 3 and rock the sea-mews fly ; 
The fishers have heard the Water-Sprite, 

Whose screams forebode that wreck is nigh. 

"Last night the gifted Seer did view 

A wet shroud swathed round ladye gay; 

1 This was a family name in the house of St. Clair. Henry St 
Clair, the second of the line, married Rosabelle, fourth daughter 
of the Earl of Stratherne. 

2 A large and strong castle, now ruinous, situated betwixt 
Kirkaldy and Dysart, on a steep crag, washed by the Frith of 
Forth. It was conferred on Sir William St. Clair, as a slight 
compensation for the earldom of Orkney, by a charter of King 
James III., dated in 1471, and is now the property of Sir James 
St. Clair Erskine, (now Earl of Rosslyn,) representative of 
the family. It was long a principal residence of the Barons of 
Roslin. 

8 Inch, Isle. 



178 THE LAY OF Canto VI 

Then stay thee, Fair, in Ravensheuch : 
Why cross the gloomy firth to-day ?" — 

" 'T is not because Lord Lindesay's heir 

To-night at Roslin leads the ball, 
But that my ladye-mother there 

Sits lonely in her castle-hall. 

" 'T is not because the ring they ride, 
And Lindesay at the ring rides well,. 

But that my sire the wine will chide, 
If 't is not fill'd by Rosabelle."— 

O'er Roslin all that dreary night 

A wondrous blaze was seen to gleam; 

'T was broader than the watch-fire's lights 
And redder than the bright moon-beauu 

It glared on Roslin's castled rock, 
It ruddied all the copse-wood glen ; 

'T was seen from Dryden's groves of oak* 
And seen from cavern'd Hawthornden. 

Seem'd all on fire that chapel proud, 
Where Roslin's chiefs uncolfin'd lie,. 

Each Baron, for a sable shroud, 
Sheathed in his iron panoply. 

Seem'd all on fire within, around, 

Deep sacristy and altar's pale; 
Shone every pillar foliage-bound, 

And glimmer'd all the dead men's mail. 1 



1 The beautiful chapel of Roslin is still in tolerable preserva- 
tion. It was founded in 1446, by William St. Clair, Prince of 
Orkney, Duke of Oklenburgh,. Earl of Caithness and Strathejrnes, 



C*nto VI THE LAST MINSTREL. 

Blazed battlement and pinnct high, 

Blazed every rose-carved buttress fair — 
So still they blaze, when fate is nigh 
The lordly line of high St. Clair. 

Lord St. Clair, Lord Niddesdale, Lord Admiral of the Scottish 
Seas, Lord Chief Justice of Scotland, Lord Warden of the three 
Marches, Baron of Roslin, Pentland, Pentland-moor, &c, Knight 
of the Cockle, and of the Garter, (as is affirmed,) High Chancel- 
lor, Chamberlain, and Lieutenant of Scotland. This lofty person, 
whose titles, says Godscroft, might weary a Spaniard, built the 
castle of Roslin, where he resided in princely splendour, and 
founded the chapel, which is in the most rich and florid style of 
Gothic architecture. Among the profuse carving on the pillars 
and buttresses, the rose is frequently introduced, in allusion to the 
name, with which, however, the flower has no connexion ; the 
etymology being Rosslinnhe, the promontory of the linn, or 
water-fall. The chapel is said to appear on fire previous to the 
death of any of his descendants. This superstition, noticed by 
Slezer in his Theatrum Scotice, and alluded to in the text, is 
probably of Norwegian derivation, and may have been imported 
by the Earls of Orkney into their Lothian dominions. The tomb- 
fires of the north are mentioned in most of the Sagas. 

The Barons of Roslin were buried in a vault beneath the chapel 
floor. The manner of their interment is thus described by Father 
Hay, in the MS. history already quoted. 

" Sir William Sinclair, the father, was a leud man. He kept 
a miller's daughter, with whom, it is alledged, he went to Ire- 
land ; yet I think the cause of his retreat was rather occasioned 
by the Presbyterians, who vexed him sadly, because of his reli- 
gion being Roman Catholic. His son, Sir William, died during 
the troubles, and was interred in the chapel of Roslin the very 
same day that the battle of Dunbar was fought. When my 
good-father was buried, his (i. e. Sir William's) corpse seemed 
to be entire at the opening of the cave ; but when they came to 
touch his body, it fell into dust. He was laying in his armour, 
with a red velvet cap on his head, on a flat stone ; nothing was 
spoiled except a piece of the white furring that went round the 



180 the LAY OF Canto VI 

There are twenty of Roslin's barons boid 
Lie buried within that proud chapelle ; 

Each one the holy vault doth hold — 
But the sea holds lovely Rosabelle ! 

And each St. Clair was buried there, 

With candle, with book, and with knell ; 

But the sea-caves rung, and the wild winds sung, 
The dirge of lovely Rosabelle. 

XXIV. 

So sweet was Harold's piteous lay, 

Scarce mark'd the guests the darken'd hall, 
Though, long before the sinking day, 

A wondrous shade involved them all: 
It was not eddying mist or fog, 
Drain'd by the sun from fen or bog; 

Of no eclipse had sages told ; 
And yet, as it came on apace, 
Each one could scarce his neighbour's face, 

Could scarce his own stretch'd hand behold. 
A secret horror check'd the feast, 
And chill'd the soul of every guest ; 
Even the high Dame stood half aghast, 
She knew some evil on the blast; 

cap, and answered to the hinder part of the head. All his pre- 
decessors were buried after the same manner, in their armour : 
late Rosline, my good-father, was the first that was buried in a 
coffin, against the sentiments of King James the Seventh, who 
was then in Scotland, and several other persons well versed in 
antiquity, to whom my mother would not hearken, thinking it 
beggarly to be buried after that manner. The great expenses 
she was at in burying her husband, occasioned the sumptuary 
acts which were made in the following parliament." 



Vanto VI. THE LAST MINSTREL. 181 

The elvish page fell to the ground, 

And, shuddering, mutter'd, "Found! found! found!' 

XXV. 

Then sudden, through the darken'd air 

A flash of lightning came; 
So broad, so bright, so red the glare, 

The castle seem'd on flame. 
Glanced every rafter of the hall, 
Glanced every shield upon the wall ; 
Each trophied beam, each sculptured stone, 
Were instant seen, and instant gone ; 
Full through the guests' bedazzled band 
Resistless flash'd the levin-brand, 
And rill'd the hall with smouldering smoke, 
As on the elvish page it broke. 

It broke, with thunder long and loud, 

Dismay'd the brave, appall'd the proud, — 
From sea to sea the larum rung; 

On Berwick wall, and at Carlisle withal, 
To arms the startled warders sprung. 
When ended was the dreadful roar, 
The elvish dwarf was seen no more ! 

XXVI. 

Some heard a voice in Branksome Hall, 
Some saw a sight, not seen by all; 
That dreadful voice was heard by some, 
Cry, with loud summons, " Gylbin, come!" 
And on the spot where burst the brand, 

Just where the page had flung him down, 
Some saw an arm, and some a hand, 

And some the waving of a gown. 
Vol. I. 16 



• 



182 THE LAY OF Canto VI. 

The guests in silence pray'd and shook, 

And terror dimm'd each lofty look. 

But none of all the astonish'd train 

Was so dismay'd as Deloraine; 

His blood did freeze, his brain did burn, 

'T was fear'd his mind would ne'er return ; 
For he was speechless, ghastly, wan, 
Like him of whom the story ran, 
Who spoke the spectre-hound in Man. 1 

1 The ancient castle of Peel-town in the Isle of Man, is sur- 
rounded by four churches, now ruinous. Through one of these 
chapels there was formerly a passage from the guard-room of the 
garrison. This was closed, it is said, upon the following occa- 
sion : " They say, that an apparition, called, in the Mankish lan- 
guage, the Mauthe Doog, in the shape of a large black spaniel, 
with curled shaggy hair, was used to haunt Peel-castle ; and has 
been frequently seen in every room, but particularly in the 
guard-chamber, where, as soon as candles were lighted, it came 
and lay down before the fire, in presence of all the soldiers, who, 
at length, by being so much accustomed to the sight of it, lost 
great part of the terror they were seized with at its first appear- 
ance. They still, however, retained a certain awe, as believing 
it was an evil spirit, which only waited permission to do them 
hurt; and, for that reason, forbore swearing, and all profane dis- 
course, while in its company. But though they endured the 
shock of such a guest when altogether in a body, none cared to 
be left alone with it. It being the custom, therefore, for one of 
the soldiers to lock the gates of the castle at a certain hour, and 
carry the keys to the captain, to whose apartment, as I said 
before, the way led through the church, they agreed among 
themselves, that whoever was to succeed the ensuing night his 
fellow in this errand, should accompany him that went first, and 
by this means no man would be exposed singly to the danger ; 
for I forgot to mention, that the Mauthe Doog- was always seen 
to come out from that passage at the close of the day, and return 
to it again as soon as the morning dawned ; which made them 
look on this place as its peculiar residence. 



Cento VL THE LAST MINSTREL. 183 

At length, by fits, he darkly told, 

With broken hint, and shuddering cold — 

That he had seen, right certainly, 
A shape with amice wrapped around, 
With a wrought Spanish baldric bound, 

Like pilgrim from beyond the^sea ; 
And knew — but how it matter'd not — 

It was the wizard, Michael Scott 

• 

" One night a fellow being drunk, and by the strength of his 
liquor rendered more daring than ordinarily, laughed at the sim- 
plicity of his companions; and, though it was not his turn to go 
with the keys, would needs take that office upon him, to testify 
his courage. All the soldiers endeavoured to dissuade him ; but 
the more they said, the more resolute he seemed, and swore that 
he desired nothing more than that the Mauthe Doog would fol- 
low him, as it had done the others ; for he would try if it were 
dog or devil. After having talked in a very reprobate manner 
for some time, he snatched up the keys, and went out of the 
guard-room. In some time after his departure, a great noise 
was heard, but nobody had the boldness to see what occasioned 
it, till, the adventurer returning, they demanded the knowledge 
of him; but as loud and noisy as he had been at leaving them, he 
was now become sober and silent enough; for he was never 
heard to speak more ; and though all the time he lived, which 
was three days, ho was entreated by all who came near him, 
either to speak, or, if he could not do that, to make some signs, 
by which they might understand what had happened to him, 
yet nothing intelligible could be got from him, only that, by the 
distortion of his limbs and features, it might be guessed that he 
died in agonies more than is common in a natural death. 

" The Mauthe Doog was, however, never after seen in the 
castle, nor would any one attempt to go through that passage ; 
for which reason it was closed up, and another way made. This 
accident happened about three score years since ; and I heard it 
attested by several, but especially by an old soldier, who assured 
me he had seen it oftener than he had then hairs on his head." — 
Waldron's Description of the Isle of Man, p. 107. 
M 



184 THE LAY OF Canto VI 

XXVII. 

The anxious crowd, with horror pale, 
All trembling heard the wondrous tale ; 

No sound was made, no word was spoke, 

Till noble Angus silence broke; 
And he a 'solemn sacred plight 

Did to St. Bride of Douglas make, 1 

That -he a pilgrimage would take 

To Melrose Abbey, for the sake 
Of Michael's restless sprite. 
Then each, to ease his troubled breast, 
To some bless'd saint his prayers address'd; 
Some to St. Modan made their vows, 
Some to St. Mary of the Lowes, 
Some to the Holy Rood of Lisle, 
Some to our Ladye of the Isle; 
Each did his patron witness make, 
That he such pilgrimage would take, 
And Monks should sing, and bells should toll, 
All for the weal of Michael's soul. 
While vows were ta'en, and prayers were pray'd, 
'Tis said the noble dame, dismay 'd, 
Renounced, for aye, dark magic's aid. 

1 This was a favourite saint of the house of Douglas, and of the 
Earl of Angus in particular; as we learn from the following pas- 
sage : " The Queen-regent had proposed to raise a rival noble to 
the ducal dignity ; and discoursing of her purpose with Angus, 
he answered, « Why not, madam 7 we are happy that have such 
a princess, that can know and will acknowledge men's services, 
and is willing to recompense it ; but, by the might of God,' (this 
was his oath when he was serious and in anger ; at other times, 
it was by St. Bryde of Douglas,) ' if he be a Duke, I will be a 
Drake ! ' — So she desisted from prosecuting of that purpose." — 
Godscroft, vol. i. p. 131. 



Vanto VI. THE LAST MINSTREL. 185 

XXVIII. 

Nought of the bridal will I tell, 
Which after in short space befell; 
Nor how brave sons and daughters fair 
Bless'd Teviot's Flower, and Cranstoun's heir: 
After such dreadful scene, 'twere vain 
To wake the note of mirth again. 

More meet it were to mark the day 
Of penitence and prayer divine, 

When pilgrim-chiefs, in sad array, 
Sought Melrose' holy shrine. 

XXIX. 

With naked foot, and sackcloth vest, 
And arms enfolded on his breast, 

Did every pilgrim go; 
The standers-by might hear uneath, 
Footstep, or voice, or high-drawn breath, 

Through all the lengthen'd row: 
No lordly look, nor martial stride, 
Gone was their glory, sunk their pride, 

Forgotten their renown ; 
Silent and slow, like ghosts they glide 
To the high altar's hallow'd side, 

And there they knelt them down: 
Above the suppliant chieftains wave 
The banners of departed brave; 
Beneath the letter'd stones were laid 
The ashes of their fathers dead ; 
From many a garnish'd niche around, 
Stern saints and tortured martyrs frown'd. 



186 THE LAY OF Canto VI 

XXX. 

And slow up the dim aisle afar, 
With sable cowl and scapular, 
And snow-white stoles, in order due y 
The holy Fathers, two and two, 

In long procession came ; 
Taper, and host, and book they bare, 
And holy banner flourish'd fair 

With the Redeemer's name. 
Above the prostrate pilgrim band, 
The mitred Abbot stretch'd his hand, 

And bless'd them as they kneel'd; 
With holy cross he sign'd them all r 
And pray'd they might be sage in hall, 

And fortunate in field. 
Then mass was sung, and prayers were said. 
And solemn requiem for the dead ; 
And bells tolPd out their mighty peal r 
For the departed spirit's weal ; 
And ever in the office close 
The hymn of intercession rose; 
And far the echoing aisles prolong 
The awful burthen of the song, — 

Dies ir^e, dies illa, 

Sol vet s^clum in fa villa ; 
While the pealing organ rung; 

Were it meet with sacred strain 

To close my lay, so light and vain* 
Thus the holy Fathers sung. 



Canto VI. THE LAST MINSTREL. 187 

XXXI. 

HYMN FOR THE DEAD. 

That day of wrath, that dreadful day, 
When heaven and earth shall pass away, 
What power shall be the sinner's stay ? 
How shall he meet that dreadful day? 

When, shrivelling like a parched scroll, 
The naming heavens together roll ; 
W^hen louder yet, and yet more dread, 
Swells the high trump that wakes the dead! 

Oh ! on that day, that wrathful day, 
When man to judgment wakes from clay, 
Be Thou the trembling sinner's stay, 
Though heaven and earth shall pass away? 



Hush'd is the harp — the Minstrel gone 
And did he wander forth alone? 
Alone, in indigence and age, 
To linger out his pilgrimage? 
No: close beneath proud Newark's tower, 
Arose the Minstrel's lowly bower; 
A simple hut; but there was seen 
The little garden hedged with green, 
The cheerful hearth, and lattice clean. 
There shelter'd wanderers, by the blaze, 
Oft heard the tale of other days; 
For much he loved to ope his door, 
And give the aid he begg'd before. 



188 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. Canto IV 

So passed the winter's day ; but still, 
When summer smiled on sweet Bowhill, 
And July's eve, with balmy breath, 
Waved the blue-bells on Newark heath; 
When throstles sung in Harehead-shaw, 
And corn was green on Carterhaugh, 
And flourish'd, broad, Blackandro's oak, 
The aged harper's soul awoke! 
Then would he sing achievements high, 
And circumstance of chivalry, 
Till the rapt traveller would stay, 
Forgetful of the closing day ; 
And noble youths, the strain to hear, 
Forsook the hunting of the deer; 
And Yarrow, as he roll'd along, 
Bore burden to the minstrel's song 



APPENDIX 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 



191 



APPENDIX 



Note A. 

The feast was over in Branksome tower. — P. 41. 

. In the reign of James L, Sir William Scott of Buccleugh 
chief of the clan bearing that name, exchanged, with Sir Tho- 
mas Inglis of Manor, the estate of Murdiestone, in Lanarkshire, 
for one-half of the barony of Branksome, or Brankholm, 1 lying 
upon the Teviot, about three miles above Hawick. He was pro- 
bably induced to this transaction from the vicinity of Branksome 
to the extensive domain which he possessed in Ettrick Forest and 
in Teviotdale. In the former district he held by occupancy the 
estate of Buccleuch, 2 and much of the forest land on the river 
Ettrick. In Teviotdale, he enjoyed the barony of Eckford, by a 
grant from Robert II. to his ancestor, Walter Scott of Kirkurd, 
for the apprehending of Gilbert Ridderford, confirmed by Robert 
III., 3d May, 1424. Tradition imputes the exchange betwixt Scott 
and Inglis to a conversation, in which the latter, a man, it would 
appear, of a mild and forbearing nature, complained much of the 
injuries which he was exposed to from the English Borderers, who 
frequently plundered his lands of Branksome. Sir William Scott 
instantly offered him the estate of Murdiestone, in exchange for 
that which was subject to such egregious inconvenience. When 

i Branxholm is the proper name of the barony; but Branksome has been 
adopted, as suitable to the pronunciation, and more proper for poetry. 

2 There are no vestiges of any building at Buccleuch, except the site of a 
chapel, where, according to a tradition current in the time of Scott of Satchells, 
many of the ancient barons of Buccleuch lie buried. There is also sai(* to 
have been a mill near this solitary spot ; an extraordinary circumstance, as little 
or no corn grows within several miles of Buccleuch. Satchells says it was used 
to grind corn for the hounds of the chieftain. 



192 APPENDIX TO THE 

the bargain was completed, he dryly remarked, that the cattle in 
Cumberland were as good as those of Teviotdale ; and proceeded 
to commence a system of reprisals upon the English, which was 
regularly pursued by his successors. In the next reign, James 
II. granted to Sir Walter Scott of Branksome, and to Sir David, 
his son, the remaining half of the barony of Branksome, to be held 
in blanche for the payment of a red rose. The cause assigned 
for the grant is, their brave and faithful exertions in favour of 
the King against the house of Douglas, with whom James had 
been recently tugging for the throne of Scotland. This charter 
is dated the 2d February, 1443 ; and, in the same month, part 
of the barony of Langholm, and many lands in Lanarkshire, 
were conferred upon Sir Walter and his son by the same mon- 
arch. 

After the period of the exchange with Sir Thomas Inglis, 
Branksome became the principal seat of the Buccleuch family. 
The castle was enlarged and strengthened by Sir David Scott, 
the grandson of Sir William, its first possessor. But, in 1570-1, 
the vengeance of Elizabeth, provoked by the inroads of Buccleuch, 
and his attachment to the cause of Queen Mary, destroyed the 
castle, and laid waste the lands of Branksome. In the same year 
the castle was repaired and enlarged by Sir Walter Scott, its 
brave possessor ; but the work was not completed until after his 
death, in 1574, when the widow finished the building. This ap- 
pears from the following inscriptions. Around a stone, bearing 
the arms of Scott of Buccleuch, appears the following legend : 
"Sir m. Scott of ttranx&efm IBinvt oe of Sir Gffiflilam 
Scott of &frfturti ltni?t bcflan ge toork upon pt 24 of jf&avc&e 
1571 }Uv qui)* ticuartft at <&oVs ailcfsour £e 17 Styrfl 1574." 
On a similar copartment are sculptured the arms of Douglas, 
with this inscription, " Dame Margaret Douglas his spous 

COMPLETIT THE FORSAID WORK IN OCTOBER 1576." Over an 

arched door is inscribed the following moral verse : — 

In. barttr. fs. nodjt. nature. bes. brought. gat. sal. lest aj). 
STijarefore. setbe. (JSoTr. fcefp. befl. ue. rotr. tfto. fame. sal. nocbt. 

tocftag. 
Sir Salter Scot of Eranxbolm B-rngbt jS&arjjaret IBouslas. 1571. 

Branksome Castle continued to be the principal seat of the 



LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 1^3 

Buccleuch family, while security was any object in their choice 
of a mansion. It has since been the residence of the Commis- 
sioners, or Chamberlains, of the family. From the various 
alterations which the building- has undergone, it is not only 
greatly restricted in its dimensions, but retains little of the cas- 
tellated form, if we except one square tower of massy thickness, 
the only part of the original building which now remains. The 
whole forms a handsome modern residence, lately inhabited by 
my deceased friend, Adam Ogilvy, Esq. of Hartwoodmyres, Com- 
missioner of his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch. 

The extent of the ancient edifice can still be traced by some 
vestiges of its foundation, and its strength is obvious from the 
situation, on a deep bank surrounded by the Teviot and flanked 
by a deep ravine, formed by a precipitous brook. It was ancient- 
ly surrounded by wood, as appears from the survey of Roxburgh- 
shire, made for Pout's Atlas, and preserved in the Advocates' 
Library. This wood was cut about fifty years ago, but is now 
replaced by the thriving plantations, which have been formed by 
the noble proprietor, for miles around the ancient mansion of his 
forefathers. 

Note B. 

JSine-and-twenty knights of fame 

Hung their shields in Branksome-Hall. — P. 42. 

The ancient Barons of Buccleuch, both from feudal splendour, 
and from their frontier situation, retained in their household, at 
Branksome, a number of gentlemen of their own name, who 
held lands from their chief, for the military service of watching 
and warding his castle. Satchells tells us, in his doggrel poetry, 

" No baron was better served in Britain ; 
The barons of Buckleugh they kept their call, 
Four and twenty gentlemen in their hall, 
All being of his name and kin ; 
Each two had a servant to wait upon them ; 
Before supper and dinner, most renowned, 
The bells rung and the trumpets sowned ; 
And more than that, I do confess, 
They kept four and twenty pensioners. 

Vol. I. 18 



194 APPENDIX TO THE 

Think not I lie, nor do me blame, 

For the pensioners I cnn all name : 

There's men alive, elder than I, 

They know if I speak truth, or lie. 

Every pensioner a room 3 did gain, 

For service done and to be done ; 

This let the reader understand, 

The name both of the men and land, 

Which they possessed, it is of truth, 

Both from the Lairds and Lords of Buckleugh." 

Accordingly, dismounting- from his Pegasus, Satchells gives 
us, in prose, the names of twenty-four gentlemen, younger bro- 
thers of ancient families, who were pensioners to the house of 
Buccleuch, and describes the lands which each possessed for his 
Border service. In time of war with England, the garrison was 
doubtless augmented. Satchells adds, " These twenty-three pen- 
sioners, all of his own name of Scott, and Walter Gladstanes of 
Whitelaw, a near cousin of my lord's, as aforesaid, were ready 
on all occasions, when his honour pleased cause to advertise 
them. It is known to many of the country better than it is to 
me, that the rent of these lands, which the Lairds and Lords of 
Buccleuch did freely bestow upon their friends, will amount to 
above twelve or fourteen thousand merks a-year." — History of 
the Name of Scott, p. 45. An immense sum in those times. 

Note C. 

They watch, against Southern force and guile, 
Lest Scroop, or Howard, or Percy's poicers, 
Threaten Branksome^s lordly towers, 

From Warkworth, or JSaworth, or merry Carlisle. — P. 43. 

Branksome Castle was continually exposed to the attacks of 
the English, both from its situation and the restless military dis- 
position of its inhabitants, who were seldom on good terms with 
their neighbours. The following letter from the Earl of .North- 
umberland to Henry VIII. in 1533, gives an account of a suc- 
cessful inroad of the English, in which the country was plunder- 
ed up to the gates of the castle, although the invaders failed in 

i Room, portion of land. 



LAY OF THE LxVST MINSTREL. 195 

their principal object, which was to kill, or make prisoner, the 
Laird of Buccleuch. It occurs in the Cotton MS. Calig. B. 
VIII. f. 222. 

" Pleaseth y^your most gracious highness to be aduertised, 
that my comptroller, with Raynald Carnaby, desyred licence of 
me to invade the realme of Scotland, for the annoysaunce of 
your highnes enemys, where they thought best exploit by theyme 
might be done, and to haue to concur withe theyme the inhabi- 
tants of Northumberland, suche as was towards me according to 
theyre assembly, and as by theyre discretions vpone the same 
they shulde thinke most convenient ; and soo they dyde meet 
vppon Monday, before night, being the iii day of this instant 
monethe, at Wawhope, upon Northe Tyne water, above Tyn- 
daill, where they were to the number of xv c men, and soo in- 
vadet Scotland at the hour of viii of the clok at nyght, at a place 
called Whele Causay ; and before xi of the clok dyd send forth 
a forrey of Tyndaill and Ryddisdail, and laide all the resydewe 
in a bushment, and actyvely did set vpon a towne called Branx- 
holm, where the Lord of Buclough dwellythe, and purpesed 
theymeselves with a trayne for hym lyke to his accustomed man- 
ner, in rysynge to all frayes ; albeit, that knyght he was not at 
home, and so they brynt the said Branxholm, and other townes, 
as to say Whichestre, Whichestre-helme, and Whelley, and haid 
ordered theymeself, soo that sundry of the said Lord Buclough's 
servants, who dyd issue fourthe of his gates, was takyn prison- 
ers. They dyd not leve one house, one stak of corne, nor one 
shyef, without the gate of the said Lord Buclough vnbrynt ; and 
thus scrymaged and frayed, supposing the Lord of Buclough to 
be within iii or iiii myles to have trayned him to the bushment ; 
and soo in the breyking of the day dyd the forrey and the bush- 
ment mete, and reculed homeward, making theyr way westward 
from theyre invasion to be over Lyddersdaill, as intending yf the 
fray frome theyre furst entry by the Scotts waiches, or other- 
wyse by warnying, shulde haue bene gyven to Gedworth and 
the countrey of Scotland theyreabouts of theyre invasion ; 
whiche Gedworth is from the Wheles Causay vi myles, that 
thereby the Scotts shulde have comen further vnto theyme, and 
more out of ordre; and soo upon sundry good considerations, be- 
fore they entered Lyddersdaill, as well accompting the inhabi- 



19G APPENDIX TO THE 

tants of the same to be towards your highness, and to enforce 
theyrne the more thereby, as alsoo to put an occasion of suspect 
to the Kinge of Scotts, and his counsaill, to be taken anenst 
theyme, amonges theymeselves, made procl amnions, command- 
ing, vpon payne of dethe, assurance to be for the said inhabitants 
of Lyddersdaill, without any prejudice or hurt to be done by any 
Inglysman vnto theyme, and soo in good ordre abowte the howre 
of ten of the clok before none, vppone Tewisday, dyd pass 
through the said Lyddersdail, when dyd come diverse of the said 
inhabitants there to my servauntes, under the said assurance, 
offerring theymselfs with any service they couthe make; and 
thus, thanks be to Godde, your highnes' subjects, abowte the 
howre of xii of the clok at none the same daye, came into this 
your highnes realme, bringing wt theyme above xl Scottsmen 
prisoners, one of theyme named Scot, of the surname and kyn 
of the said Lord of Buclough, and of his howsehold ; they 
brought also ccc nowte, and above lx horse and mares, keping in 
savetie frome losse or hurte all your said highnes subjects. There 
was alsoo a towne, called Newbyggins, by diverse fotmen of 
Tyndaill and Ryddesdaill, takyn vp of the night, and spoyled, 
when was slayne ii Scottsmen of the said towne, and many 
Scotts there hurte ; your highnes subjects was xiii myles within 
the ground e of Scotlande, and is from my house at Werkworthe, 
above lx miles of the most evil passage, where great snawes 
doth lye ; heretofore the same townes now brynt haith not at any 
tyme in the mynd of man in any warrs been enterprised unto 
nowe ; your subjects were thereto more encouraged for the bet- 
ter advancement of your highnes service, the said Lord of Buc- 
lough beyng always a mortall enemy to this your Graces realme, 
and he dyd say, within xiii days before, he woulde see who durst 
lye near hym; wt many other cruell words, the knowledge 
whereof was certainly haid to my said servaunts, before theyre 
enterprice maid vpon him ; most humbly beseeching your 
majesty, that youre highnes thanks may concur vnto theyme, 
whose names be here inclosed, and to have in your most gracious 
memory, the paynfull and diligent service of my pore servaunte 
Wharton, and thus, as I am most bounden, shall dispose wt them 
that be under me f . . . . annoysaunce of your highnes ene- 
mys." In resentment of this foray, Buccleuch, witli other 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 197 

Border chiefs, assembled an army of 3000 riders, with which 
they penetrated into Northumberland, and laid waste the country 
as far as the banks of Bramish. They baffle'd, or defeated, the 
English forces opposed to them, and returned loaded with prey. 
— Pinkerton's History, vol. ii. p. 318. 

Note D. 

Bards long shall tell, 

How Lord Walter fell. — F. 43. 

Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch succeeded to his grandfather, 
Sir David, in 149*2. He was a brave and powerful baron, and 
Warden of the West Marches of Scotland. His death was the 
consequence of a feud betwixt the Scotts and Kerrs, the history 
of which is necessary, to explain repeated allusions in the 
romance. 

In the year 1526, in the words of Pitscottie, " the Earl of An- 
gus, and the rest of the Douglasses, ruled all which they liked, 
and no man durst say the contrary ; wherefore the King (James 
V. then a minor) was heavily displeased, and would fain have 
been out of their hands, if he might by any way : And, to that 
effect, wrote a quiet and secret letter with his own hand, and 
sent it to the Laird of Buccleuch, beseeching him that he would 
come with his kin and friends, and all the force that he might be, 
and meet him at Melross, at his home-passing, and there to take 
him out of the Douglasses hands, and to put him to liberty, to use 
himself among the lave (rest) of his lords, as he thinks expedient. 

" This letter was quietly directed, and sent by one of the 
King's own secret servants, which was received very thankfully 
by the Laird of Buccleuch, who was very glad thereof, to be put 
to such charges and familiarity with his prince, and did great dili- 
gence to perform the King's writing, and to bring the matter to 
pass as the King desired : And, to that effect, convened all his 
kin and friends, and all that would do for him, to ride with him 
to Melross, when he knew of the King's home-coming. And so 
he brought with him six hundred spears, of Liddesdale, and An- 
nandale, and countrymen, and clans thereabout, and held them- 
selves quiet while that the King returned out of Jedburgh, and 
came to Melross, to remain there all that night. 
18* 



198 APPENDIX TO THE 

" But when the Lord Hume, Cessfoord, and Fernyhnrst, (the 
chiefs of the clan of Kerr,) took their leave of the King, and 
returned home, then appeared the Lord of Buccleuch in sight, 
and his company with him, in an arrayed battle, intending to 
have fulfilled the King's petition, and therefore came stoutly for- 
ward on the back side of Haliden hill. By that the Earl of An- 
gus, with George Douglas, his brother, and sundry other of his 
friends, seeing this army coming, they marvelled what the matter 
meant ; while at the last they knew the Laird of Buccleuch, with 
a certain company of the thieves of Annandale. With him they 
were less afteared, and made them manfully to the field contrary 
them, and said to the King in this manner, ' Sir, yon is Buccleuch, 
and thieves of Annandale with him, to unbeset your Grace from 
the gate' (i. e. interrupt your passage.) ' I vow to God they shall 
either fight or flee ; and ye shall tarry here on this know, and 
my brother George with you, with any other company you please ; 
and I shall pass, and put yon thieves off the ground, and rid the 
gate unto your Grace, or else die for it.' The King tarried still, 
as was devised ; and George Douglas with him, and sundry other 
lords, such as the Earl of Lennox, and the Lord Erskine, and 
some of the King's own servants ; but all the lave (rest) past 
with the Earl of Angus to the field against the Laird of Buc- 
cleuch, who joyned and countered cruelly both the said parties 
in the field of Darnelinver, 1 either against other, with uncertain 
victory. But at the last, the Lord Hume, hearing word of that 
matter how it stood, returned again to the King in all possible 
haste, with him the Lairds of Cessfoord and Fernyhirst, to the 
number of fourscore spears, and set freshly on the lap and wing 
of the Laird of Buccleuch's field, and shortly bare them back- 
ward to the ground ; which caused the Laird of Buccleuch, and 
the rest of his friends, to go back and flee, whom they followed 
and chased ; and especially the Lairds of Cessfoord and Ferny- 
hirst followed furiouslie, till at the foot of a path the Laird of 
Cessfoord was slain by the stroke of a spear by an Elliot, who 
was then servant to the Laird of Buccleuch. But when the 



»Darnwick, near Melrose. The place of conflict is still called Skinner'g 
Field, from a corruption of Skirmish Field. [See the Minstrelsy of the Scottish 
Border, vols. i. and ii., for farther particulars concerning these places, of 
all which the author of the Lay was ultimately proprietor.— Ed.] 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 199 

Laird of Cessfoord was slain, the chase ceased. The Earl of An- 
gus returned again with great merriness and victory, and thanked 
God that he saved him from that chance, and passed with the 
King to Melross, where they remained all that night. On the 
morn they past to Edinburgh with the King, who was very sad 
and dolorous of the slaughter of the Laird of Cessfoord, and many 
other gentlemen and yeomen slain by the Laird of Buccleuch, 
containing the number of fourscore and fifteen, which died in 
defence of the King, and at the command of his writing." 

I am not the first who has attempted to celebrate in verse the 
renown of this ancient baron, and his hazardous attempt to pro- 
cure his sovereign's freedom. In a Scottish Latin poet we find 
the following verses : — 

Valterius Scotus Balcluchius, 

Egregio suscepto facinore, libertate Regis, ac aliis rebus gestis 
clarus, sub Jacobo V. A°. Christi, 1526. 

"Intentata aliis, nullique audita priorum 

Audet, nee pavidum morsve, metusve quatit, 
Libertatem aliis soliti transcribere Regis : 

Subreptam hanc Regi restituisse paras ; 
Si vincis, quanta 6 succedunt praemia dextraeT 

Sin victus, falsas spes jace, pone animam. 
Hostica vis nocuit: stant alta? robora mentis 

Atque decus. Vincet, Rege probante, fides. 
Insita queis animis virtus, quosque acrior ardor 

Obsidet, obscuris nox premat an tenebris?" 

Heroes ex omni Historia Scotica lectissimi, Auctore Johan. Jonstonio 
Abredonense Seoto, 1603. 

In consequence of the battle of Melrose, there ensued a deadly 
feud betwixt the names of Scott and Kerr, which, in spite of all 
means used to bring about an agreement, raged for many years 
upon the Borders. Buccleuch was imprisoned, and his estates 
forfeited, in the year 1535, for levying war against the Kerrs, and 
restored by act of Parliament, dated 15th March, 1542, during 
the regency of Mary of Lorraine. But the most signal act of 
violence, to which this quarrel gave rise, was the murder of Sir 
Walter himself, who was slain by the Kerrs in the streets of Edin- 
burgh in 1552. This is the event alluded to in stanza vii. ; and 
the poem is supposed to open shortly after it had taken place. 



200 APPENDIX TO THE 

The feud between these two families was not reconciled in 
1596, when both chieftains paraded the streets of Edinburgh with 
their followers, and it was expected their first meeting- would 
decide their quarrel. But, on July 14th of the same year, Colvil, 
in a letter to Mr. Bacon, informs him, " that there was great 
trouble upon the Borders, which would continue till order should 
be taken by the Queen of England and the King, by reason of 
the two young Scots chieftains, Cesford and Baclugh, and of the 
present necessity and scarcity of corn amongst the Scots Border- 
ers and riders. That there had been a private quarrel betwixt 
those two lairds on the Borders, which was like to have turned 
to blood ; but the fear of the general trouble had reconciled them, 
and the injuries which they thought to have committed against 
each other, were now transferred upon England : not unlike that 
emulation in France between the Baron de Biron and Mons. Jeve- 
rie, who, being both ambitious of honour, undertook more hazard- 
ous enterprises against the enemy, than they would have done 
if they had been at concord together." — Birch's Memorials, vol. 
ii. p. 67. 

Note E. 

Of Bethune\s line of Picardie. — P. 47. 

The Bethunes were of French origin, and derived their name 
from a small town in Artois. There were several distinguished 
families of the Bethunes in the neighbouring province of Picardy; 
they numbered among their descendants the celebrated Due de 
Sully ; and the name was accounted among the most noble in 
France, while aught noble remained in that country. 1 The family 
of Bethune, or Beatoun, in Fife, produced three learned and dig- 
nified prelates; namely, Cardinal Beaton, and two successive 
Archbishops of Glasgow, all of whom flourished about the date of 
the romance. Of this family was descended Dame Janet Beaton, 
Lady Buccleuch, widow of Sir Walter Scott of Branksome. She 
was a woman of masculine spirit, as appeared from her riding at 
the head of her son's clan, after her husband's murder. She also 



1 This expression and sentiment were dictated by the situation of France, in 
the year 1803, when the poem was originally written. 1821. 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 201 

possessed the hereditary abilities of her family in such a degree, 
that the superstition of the vulgar imputed them to supernatural 
knowledge. With this was mingled, by faction, the foul accusa- 
tion, of her having influenced Queen Mary to the murder of her 
husband. One of the placards, preserved in Buchanan's Detec- 
tion, accuses of Darnley's murder " the Erie of Bothwell, Mr. 
James Balfour, the persoun of Fliske, Mr. David Chalmers, black 
Mr. John Spens, who was principal deviser of the murder ; and 
the Quene, assenting thairto, throw the persuasion of the Erie 
Bothwell, and the witchcraft of Lady Buckleuch" 

Note F. 

The viewless forms of air. — P. 48. 

The Scottish vulgar, without having any very defined notion 
of their attributes, believe in the existence of an intermediate 
class of spirits, residing in the air, or in the waters ; to whose 
agency they ascribe floods, storms, and all such phenomena as 
their own philosophy cannot readily explain. They are supposed 
to interfere in the affairs of mortals, sometimes with a malevolent 
purpose, and sometimes with milder views. It is said, for example, 
that a gallant baron, having returned from the Holy Land to his 
castle of Drummelziar, found his fair lady nursing a healthy 
child, whose birth did not by any means correspond to the date 
of his departure. Such an occurrence, to the credit of the dames 
of the Crusaders be it spoken, was so rare, that it required a mi- 
raculous solution. The lady, therefore, was believed, when she 
averred confidently, that the Spirit of the Tweed had issued from 
the river while she was walking upon its bank, and compelled her 
to submit to his embraces : and the name of Tweedie was bestowed 
upon the child, who afterwards became Baron of Drummelziar, 
and chief of a powerful clan. To those spirits were also ascribed, 
in Scotland, the 

— "Airy tongues, that syllable men's names, 
On sands, and shores, and desert wildernesses." 

When the workmen were engaged in erecting the ancient 
church of Old Deer, in Aberdeenshire, upon a small hill called 
Bissau, they were surprised to find that the work was impeded 



202 APPENDIX TO THE 

by supernatural obstacles. At length, the Spirit of the river was 
heard to say, 

" It is not here, it is not here, 

That ye shall build the church of Deer ; 

But on Taptillery, 

Where many a corpse shall lie." 

The site of the edifice was accordingly transferred to Taptillery, 
an eminence at some distance from the place where the building 
had been commenced. — Macfarlane's MSS. I mention these 
popular fables, because the introduction of the River and Moun- 
tain Spirits may not, at first sight, seem to accord with the 
general tone of the romance, and the superstitions of the country 
where the scene is laid. 

Note G. 
A fancied moss-trooper, <$rc. — P. 50. 

This was the usual appellation of the marauders npon the Bor- 
ders ; a profession diligently pursued by the inhabitants on both 
sides, and by none more actively and successfully than by Buc- 
cleuch's clan. Long after the union of the crowns, the moss- 
troopers, although sunk in reputation, and no longer enjoying 
the pretext of national hostility, continued to pursue their call- 
ing. 

Fuller includes, among the wonders of Cumberland, " The 
moss-troopers: so strange in the condition of their living, if 
considered in their Original, Increase, Height, Decay, and 
Ruine. 

" 1. Original. I conceive them the same called Borderers in 
Mr. Camden ; and characterised by him to be a wild and war- 
like people. They are called moss-troopers, because dwelling in 
the mosses, and riding in troops together. They dwell in the 
bounds, or meeting, of the two kingdoms, but obey the laws of 
neither. They come to church as seldom as the 29th of Feb- 
ruary comes into the kalendar. 

" 2. Increase. When England and Scotland were united in 
Great Britain, they that formerly lived by hostile incursions, be- 
took themselves to the robbing of their neighbours. Their sons 
are free of the trade by their fathers' copy. They are like to Job, 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 205 

not in piety and patience, but in sudden plenty and poverty; 
sometimes having flocks and herds in the morning, none at night, 
and perchance many again next day. They may give for their 
motto, vivitur ex raplo, stealing from their honest neighbours what 
they sometimes require. They are a nest of hornets ; strike one, 
and stir all of them about your ears. Indeed, if they promise 
safely to conduct a traveller, they will perforin it with the fidelity 
of a Turkish janizary; otherwise, woe be to him that falleth into 
their quarters ! 

" 3. Height. Amounting, forty years since, to some thousands. 
These compelled the vicinage to purchase their security, by pay- 
ing a constant rent to them. When in their greatest height, they 
had two great enemies, — the Laws of the Land, and the Lord 
William Howard of JSaworth. He sent many of them to Car- 
lisle, to that place where the officer doth always his work by day- 
light. Yet these moss-troopers, if possibly they could procure the 
pardon for a condemned person of their company, would advance 
great sums out of their common stock, who, in such a case, cast 
in their lots amongst themselves, and all have one purse. 

"4. Decay. Caused by the wisdom, valour, and diligence of the 
Right Honourable Charles Lord Howard, Earl of Carlisle, who 
routed these English Tories with his regiment. His severity 
unto them will not only be excused, but commended, by the 
judicious, who consider how our great lawyer doth describe such 
persons, who are solemnly outlawed. Bracton, lib. viii. trac. 2. 
cap. 11. — Ex tunc gerunt caput lupinum, ita quod sine judi- 
ciali inquisitione rite pereant, et secum suum judicium portent ; 
el merito sine lege pereunt, qui secundum legem vivere recu- 
sdrunt.'' — 'Thenceforward (after that they are outlawed) they 
wear a wolfs head, so that they lawfully may be destroyed, with- 
out any judicial inquisition, as who carry their own condemnation 
about them, and deservedly die without law, because they refused 
to live according to law.' 

"5. Ruine. Such was the success of this worthy lord's severity, 
that he made a thorough reformation among them ; and the ring- 
leaders being destroyed, the rest are reduced to legal obedience, 
and so, I trust, will continue." — Fuller's Worthies of England, 
p. 216. 



5>04 APPENDIX TO THE 

The last public mention of moss-troopers occurs during the 
civil wars of the 17th century, when many ordinances of Parlia- 
ment were directed against them. 

Note H. 

William of Deloraine. — P. 51. 

The lands of Deloraine are joined to those of Buccleuch in 
Ettrick Forest. They were immemorially possessed by the Buc- 
cleuch family, under the strong title of occupancy, although no 
charter was obtained from the crown until 1545. Like other pos- 
sessions, the lands of Deloraine were occasionally granted by 
them to vassals, or kinsmen, for Border service. Satchells men- 
tions, among the twenty-four gentlemen-pensioners of the family, 
" William Scott, commonly called Cut-at-t he- Black, who had the 
lands of Nether Deloraine, for his service." And again, " This 
William of Deloraine, commonly called Cut-at-the-Black, was a 
brother of the ancient house of Haining, which house of Haining 
is descended from the ancient house of Hassendean." The lands 
of Deloraine now give an earl's title to the descendant of Henry, 
the second surviving son of the Duchess of Buccleuch and Mon- 
mouth. I have endeavoured to give William of Deloraine the 
attributes which characterised the Borderers of his day ; for which 
I can only plead Froissart's apology, that, " it behoveth, in a 
lynage, some to be folyshe and outrageous, to manteyne and 
sustayne the peasable." As a contrast to my Marchman, I beg 
leave to transcribe, from the same author, the speech of Amergot 
Marcell, a captain of the Adventurous Companions, a robber, and 
a pillager of the country of Auvergne, who had been bribed 
to sell his strongholds, and to assume a more honourable military 
life under the banners of the Earl of Armagnac. But " when he 
remembered alle this, he was sorrowful ; his tresour he thought. 
he wolde not mynysshe ; he was wonte dayly to serche for newe 
pyllages, wherbye encresed his profyte, and then he sawe that 
alle was closed fro' hym. Then he sayde and imagyned, that to 
pyll and to robbe (all thynge considered) was a good lyfe, and so 
repented hym of his good doing. On a tyme, he said to his old 
companyons, ' Sirs, there is no sporte nor gl ory in this worlde 
amonge men of warre, but to use suche lyfe as we have done in 



LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. X!05 

tyme past. What a joy was it to us when \vc rode forth at ad 
venture, and somtyme found by the way a riche priour or mer- 
chaunt, or a route of mulettcs of Mountpellyer, of Narbonne, of 
Lymens, of Fongans, of Besyers, of Tholous, or of Carcasonne, 
laden with cloth of Brussels, or peltre ware comynge fro the 
fayres, or laden with spycery fro Bruges, fro Bamas, or fro Aly- 
saundre ; whatsoever we met, all was ours, or els ransoumed at 
our pleasures ; dayly we gate new money, and the vyllaynes of 
Auvergne and of Lymosyn dayly provyded and brought to our 
castell whete mele, good wynes, beffes, and fatte mottons, pullayne, 
and wylde foule : We were ever furnyshed as tho we had been 
kings. When we rode forthe, all the countrey trymbled for feare : 
all was ours goyng and comynge. How tok we Carlast, I and 
the Bourge of Companye, and I and Perot of Bernoys took 
Caluset ; how dyd we scale, with ly tell ayde, the strong castell 
of Morquell, pertayning to the Erl Dolphyn : I kept it nat past 
fyve days, but I receyved for it, on a feyre table, fyve thousande 
frankes, and forgave one thousande for the love of the Erl Dol- 
phyn's children. By my fayth, this was a fayre and a good lyfe ! 
wherefore I repute myselfe sore deceyved, in that I have rendered 
up the fortress of Aloys ; for it wolde have kept fro alle the 
worlde, and the daye that I gave it up, it was fournyshed with 
vy taylles, to have been kept seven yere without any re-vy tayllinge. 
This Erl of Armynake hath deceyved me : Oly ve Barbe, and 
Perot le Bernoys, shewed to me how I shulde repente myselfe : 
certayne I sore repente myselfe of what I have done.' " — 
Froissart, vol. ii. p. 195. 

Note I. 

By wily turns, by desperate bounds, 

Had baffled Percy's best blood-hounds. — P. 51. 

The kings and heroes of Scotland, as well as the Border 
riders, were sometimes obliged to study how 7 to evade the pur- 
suit of blood-hounds. Barbour informs us, that Robert Bruce 
was repeatedly tracked by sleuth-dogs. On one occasion, he 
escaped by wading a bow-shot down a brook, and ascending into 
a tree by a branch which overhung the water ; thus, leaving no 

Vol. I. 19 



206 APPENDIX TO THE 

trace on land of his footsteps, he baffled the scent. The pur- 
suers came up : 

" Rycht to the burn thai passyt ware, 
Bot the sleuth-hund made stinting thar, 
And waueryt lang tyme ta and fra, 
That he na certain gate couth ga; 
Till at the last that John of Lome 
Perseuvit the hund the sleuth had lorne." 

The Bruce, Book vii. 

A sure way of stopping the dog was to spill blood upon the 
track, which destroyed the discriminating fineness of his scent. 
A captive was sometimes sacrificed on such occasions. Henry 
the Minstrel tells a romantic story of Wallace, founded on this 
circumstance : — The hero's little band had been joined by an 
Irishman, named Fawdoun, or Fadzean, a dark, savage, and sus- 
picious character. After a sharp skirmish at Black-Erne Side, 
Wallace was forced to retreat with only sixteen followers. The 
English pursued with a Border sleuth-bratch, or blood-hound. 

" In Gelderland there was that bratchet bred, 

Siker of scent, to follow them that fled ; 

So was he used in Eske and Liddesdnil, 

While (i. e. till) she gat blood no fleeing might avail." 

In the retreat, Fawdoun, tired, or affecting to be so, would go 
no farther. Wallace, having in vain argued with him, in hasty 
anger, struck off his head, and continued the retreat. When the 
English came up, their hound stayed upon the dead body : — 

" The sleuth stopped at Fawdon, still she stood, 
Nor farther would fra time she fund the blood." 

The story concludes with a fine Gothic scene of terror. Wal- 
lace took refuge in the solitary tower of Gask. Here he was 
disturbed at midnight by the blast of a horn. He sent out his 
attendants by two and two, but no one returned with tidings. At 
length, when he was left alone, the sound was heard still louder. 
The champion descended, sword in hand ; and, at the gate of the 
tower, was encountered by the headless spectre of Fawdoun, 
whom he had slain so rashly. Wallace, in great terror, fled up 
into the tower, tore open the boards of a window, leapt down 



LAV OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 207 

fifteen feet in height, and continued his flight up the river. Look- 
ing back to Gask, he discovered the tower on fire, and the form 
of Fawdoun upon the battlements, dilated to an immense size, 
and holding in his hand a blazing rafter. The Minstrel con- 
cludes, 

"Trust ryght wele, that all this be sooth indeed, 
Supposing it be no point of the creed." 

The Wallace, Book v. 

Mr. Ellis has extracted this tale as a sample of Henry's poe- 
try. — Specimens of English Poetry, vol. i. p. 351. 

Note K. 

On Minto-crags the moon-beams glint. — P. 54. 

A romantic assemblage of cliffs, which rise suddenly above 
tne vale of Teviot, in the immediate vicinity of the family-seat, 
from which Lord Minto takes his title. A small platform, on a 
projecting crag, commanding a most beautiful prospect, is term- 
ed Barnhills' Bed. This Barnhills is said to have been a robber, 
or outlaw. There are remains of a strong tower beneath the 
rocks, where he is supposed to have dwelt, and from which he 
derived his name. On the summit of the crags are the frag- 
ments of another ancient tower, in a picturesque situation. 
Among the houses cast down by the Earl of Hartforde, in 1545, 
occur the towers of Easter Barnhills, and of Minto-crag, with 
Minto town and place. Sir Gilbert Elliot, father to the present 
Lord Minto, 1 was the author of a beautiful pastoral song, of 
which the following is a more correct copy than is usually pub- 
lished. The poetical mantle of Sir Gilbert Elliot has descended 
to his family. 

"My sheep I neglected, I broke my sheep-hook, 
And all the gay haunts of my youth I forsook: 
No more for Amynta fresh garlands 1 wove; 
Ambition, I said, would soon cure me of love. 
But what had my youlh with ambition to do! 
Why left I Amynta ! why broke I my vow ! 



Grandfather to the present Earl. 1819. 



208 APPENDIX TO THE 

"Through regions remote in vain do I rove, 

And bid the wide world secure me from love. 

Ah, idol, to imagine, that aught could subdue 

A love so well founded, a passion so true ! 

Ah, give me my sheep, and my sheep-hook restore! 

And I'll wander from love and Amynta no more ! 

" Alas ! 'tis too late at thy fate to repine ! 
Poor shepherd, Amynta no more can be thine ! 
Thy tears are all fruitless, thy wishes are vain, 
The moments neglected return not again. 
Ah ! what had my youth with ambition to do ! 
Why left I Amynta ! why broke I my vow !" 

Note L. 

Ancient RiddeWs fair domain. — P. 55. 

The family of Riddell have been very long in possession of 
the barony called Riddell, or Ryedale, part of which still bears 
the latter name. Tradition carries their antiquity to a point ex- 
tremely remote ; and is, in some degree, sanctioned by the dis- 
covery of two stone coffins, one containing an earthen pot filled 
with ashes and arms, bearing a legible date, A. D. 727; the 
other dated 936, and filled with the bones of a man of gigantic 
size. These coffins were discovered in the foundations of what 
was, but has long ceased to be, the chapel of Riddell ; and as it 
was argued, with plausibility, that they contained the remains of 
some ancestors of the family, they w ere deposited in the modern 
place of sepulture, comparatively so termed, though built in 
1110. But the following curious and authentic documents war- 
rant most conclusively the epithet of " ancient Riddell :" 1st, A 
charter by David I. to Walter Rydale, Sheriff of Roxburgh, con- 
firming all the estates of Liliesclive, &c., of which his father, 
Gcrvasius de Rydale, died possessed. — 2dly, A bull of Pope 
Adrian IV., confirming the will of Walter de Ridale, knight, in 
favour of his brother Anschittil de Ridale, dated 8th x\pril, 1155. 
3dly, A bull of Pope Alexander III., confirming the said will of 
Walter de Ridale, bequeathing to his brother Anschittil the 
lands of Liliesclive, Whettunes, &c, and ratifying the bargain 
betwixt Anschittil and Huctredus, concerning the church of 
Liliesclive, in consequence of the mediation of Malcolm II., and 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 209 

confirmed by a charter from that monarch. This bull is dated 
17th June, 1160. 4thly, A bull of the same Pope, confirming 
the will of Sir Anschittil de Ridale, in favour of his son Walter, 
conveying- the said lands of Liliesclive and others, dated 10th 
March, 1120. It is remarkable, that Liliesclive, otherwise Ry- 
dale, or Riddell, and the Whittunes, have descended, through a 
long- train of ancestors, without ever passing into a collateral 
line, to the person of Sir John Buchanan Riddell, Bart, of Rid 
dell, the lineal descendant and representative of Sir Anschittil. 
— These circumstances appeared worthy of notice in a Border 
work. 1 

Note M. 

So had he seen, in fair Castile, 

The youth in glittering squadrons start ; 

Sudden the flying jennet wheel, 

And hurl the unexpected dart. — P. 65. 

" By my faith," sayd the Duke of Lancaster, (to a Portuguese 
squire,) " of all the feates of armes that the Castellyans, and they 
of your countrey doth use, the castynge of their dertes best 
pleaseth me, and gladly I wolde se it : for, as I hear say, if they 
strike one aryghte, without he be well armed, the dart will pierce 
him thrughe." — "Bymyfayth, sir," sayd the squyer, "ye say 
trouth ; for I have seen many a grete stroke given with them, 
which at one time cost us derely, and was to us great displeasure ; 
for, at the said skyrmishe, Sir John Laurence of Coygne was 
striken with a dart in such wise, that the head perced all the 
plates of his cote of mayle, and a sacke stopped with sylke, and 
passed thrughe his body, so that he fell down dead." — Froissart, 
vol. ii. ch. 44. — This mode of fighting with darts was imitated in 
the military game called Jeugo de las canas, which the Spaniards 
borrowed from their Moorish invaders. * A Saracen champion is 
thus described by Froissart : " Among the Sarazyns, there was a 
yonge knight called Agadinger Dolyferne ; he was always wel 
mounted on a redy and a lyght horse ; it seemed, when the horse 
ranne, that he did fly in the ayre. The knighte seemed to be a 

i [Since the above note was written, the ancient family of Riddell have 
parted with all their Scotch estates.— En.] 

19* 



210 APPENDIX TO THE 

good man of armes by his dedes ; he bare always of usage three 
fethered dartes, and rychte well he could handle them ; and, ac- 
cording to their custome, he was clene armed, with a long white 
towell about his head. His apparell was blacke, and his own 
colour browne, and a good horseman. The Crysten men say, 
they though te he dyd such deeds of armes for the love of some 
yonge ladye of his countrey. And true it was, that he loved en- 
tirely the King of Thune's daughter, named the Lady Azala ; 
she was inherytour to the realme of Thune, after the discease 
of the kyng, her father. This Agadinger was sone to the Duke 
of Olyferne. I can nat telle if they were married together after 
or nat; but it was shewed me, that thys knyght, for love of the 
sayd ladye, during the siege, did many feates of armes. The 
knyghtes of France wold fayne have taken hym ; but they colde 
never attrape nor inclose him ; his horse was so swyft, and so 
redy to his hand, that alwaies he escaped." — Vol. ii. ch. 71. 

Note N. 
Dark Knight of Liddesdale. — P. 66. 



William Douglas, called the Knight of Liddesdale, flourished 
during the reign of David II., and was so distinguished by his 
valour, that he was called the Flower of Chivalry. Neverthe- 
less, he tarnished his renown by the cruel murder of Sir Alex- 
ander Ramsay of Dalhousie, originally his friend and brother in 
arms. The King had conferred upon Ramsay the sheriffdom of 
Teviotdale, to which Douglas pretended some claim. In revenge 
of this preference, the Knight of Liddesdale came down upon 
Ramsay, while he was administering justice at Hawick, seized 
and carried him off to his remote and inaccessible castle of Her- 
mitage, where he threw his unfortunate prisoner, horse and man, 
into a dungeon, and left him to perish of hunger. It is said, the 
miserable captive prolonged his existence for several days by the 
corn which fell from a granary above the vault in which he was 
confined. 1 So weak was the royal authority, that David, although 



i There is something affecting in the manner in which the old Prior of Loch- 
leven turns from describing the death of the gallant Ramsay, to the general 
sorrow which it excited: - 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 211 

highly incensed at this atrocious murder, found himself obliged 
to appoint the Knight of Liddesdale successor to his victim, as 
Sheriff of Teviotdale. But he was soon after slain, while hunt- 
ing in Ettrick Forest, by his own godson and chieftain, William, 
Earl of Douglas, in revenge, according to some authors, of Ram- 
say's murder; although a popular tradition, preserved in a ballad 
quoted by Godscroft, and some parts of which are still preserved, 
ascribes the resentment of the Earl to jealousy. The place 
where the Knight of Liddesdale was killed, is called, from his 
name, William-Cross, upon the ridge of a hill called William- 
hope, betwixt Tweed and Yarrow. His body, according to Gods- 
croft, was carried to Lindean church the first night after his 
death, and thence to Melrose, where he was interred with great 
pomp, and where his tomb is still shown. 

Note O. 

The wondrous Michael Scott. — P. 68. 

Sir Michael Scott of Balwearie flourished during the 13th cen- 
tury, and was one of the ambassadors sent to bring the Maid of 
Norway to Scotland upon the death of Alexander III. By a 
poetical anachronism, he is here placed in a later era. He was 
a man of much learning, chiefly acquired in foreign countries. 
He wrote a commentary upon Aristotle, printed at Venice in 
1496 ; and several treatises upon natural philosophy, from which 
he appears to have been addicted to the abstruse studies of judi- 
cial astrology, alchymy, physiognomy, and chiromancy. Hence 

" To tell you there of the manere, 

It is bot sorrow for til here ; 

He wea the grettast inenyd man 

That ony cowth have tbowcht of than, 

Of his state, or of mare be fare : 

All menyt him, bath bettyrand war; 

The ryche and pure him menyde bath, 

For of his dede was mekil skath." 
Some years ago, a person digging for stones, about the old castle of Hermit- 
age, broke into a vault, containing a quantity of chaff, some bones, and pieces 
of iron; amongst others, the curb of an ancient bridle which the author has 
since given to the Earl of Dalhousie, under the impression that it possibly may 
be a relic of his brave ancestor. The worthy clergyman of the parish has men- 
tioned this discovery in his Statistical Account of Castletown. 



212 APPENDIX TO THE 

he passed among his contemporaries for a skilful magicianv 
Dempster informs us, that he remembers to have heard in his- 
youth, that the magic books of Michael Scott were still in exist- 
ence, but could not be opened without danger, on account of the 
malignant fiends who were thereby invoked. Dempsteri His- 
toria Ecclesiastica, 1627, lib. xii. p. 495. Lesly characterises 
Michael Scott as " singularie philosophies, astronomies, ac medi- 
cines laude prestans ; dicebatur penitissimos magics recessus 
indagdsse." Dante also mentions him as a renowned wizard : — 

" Quell' altro che ne' fianchi e cosi poco 

Michele Scotto fu, che veramente 

Delle magiche frode seppe il giucco." 

Inferno, Canto xxmo. 
A personage, thus spoken of by biographers and historians, loses 
little of his mystical fame in vulgar tradition. Accordingly, the 
memory of Sir Michael Scott survives in many a legend ; and in 
the south of Scotland, any work of great labour and antiquity, is 
ascribed, either to to the agency of Auld Michael^ of Sir William 
Wallace, or of the devil. Tradition varies concerning the place 
of his burial ; some contend for Home Coltrame, in Cumberland ; 
others for Melrose Abbey. But ail agree, that his books of magic 
were interred in his grave, or preserved in the convent where he 
died. Satchells, wishing to give some authority for his account 
of the origin of the name of Scott, pretends, that, in 1629, he 
chanced to be at Burgh under Bowness, in Cumberland, where a 
person, named Lancelot Scott, showed him an extract from 
Michael Scott's works, containing that story : — 

" He said the book which he gave me 

Was of Sir Michael Scott's historie ; 

Which history was never yet read through, 

Nor never will, for no man dare it do. 

Young scholars have pick'd out something 

From the contents, that dare not read within. 

He carried me along the castle then, 

And shew'd his written book hanging on an iron pin. 

His writing pen did seem to me to be 

Of hardened metal, like steel, or accumie ; 

The volume of it did seem as large to me, 

As the Book of Martyrs and Turks historie. 

Then in the church he let me see 

A stone where Mr. Michael Scott did lie ; 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 213 

I asked at him how that could appear, 
Mr. Michael had been dead above five hundred year? 
He shew'd me none durst bury under that stone, 
More than he had been dead a few years agone; 
For Mr. Michael's name does terrifie each one." 

History of the Right Honourable Name of Scott. 

Note P. 

Salamanca's cave. — P. 0"-*. 

Spain, from the relics, doubtless, of Arabian learning and 
superstition, was accounted a favourite residence of magicians. 
Pope Sylvester, who actually imported from Spain the use of the 
Arabian numerals, was supposed to have learned there the magic, 
for which he was stigmatized by the ignorance of his age. — 
William of Malmsbury, lib. ii. cap. 10. There were public 
schools, w'here magic, or rather the sciences supposed to involve 
its mysteries, were regularly taught, at Toledo, Seville, and 
Salamanca. In the latter city, they were held in a deep cavern; 
the mouth of which w 7 as walled up by Queen Isabella, wife of 
King Ferdinand. — D'Auton on Learned Incredulity, p. 45. 
These Spanish schools of magic are celebrated also by the Italian 
poets of romance : — 

' Questo citta di Tolleto solea 
Tenere studio di negromanz'ia, 
Quivi di magiea arte si leggea 
Pubblieamente, e di peromanzia; 
E molti geomanti sempre avea, 
Esperimenii assai d' idromanz'ia 
E d' a!tre false opinion' di sciocchi 
Come e fatture, o spesso batter gli occhi." 

// Morgante Muggiore, Canto xxv. St. 259. 

The celebrated magician Maugis, cousin to Rinaldo of Mont- 
alban, called, by Ariosto, Malngigi, studied the black art at 
Toledo, as we learn from UHistoire de Maugis D\Aygremont. 
He even held a professor's chair in the necromantic university ; 
for so I interpret the passage, " qifon tons les sept ars d'en- 
chantement, des charmes et conjurations, il n*y aroit meillieur 
tnaistre que lui ; et en tel renom qiCon le laissoit en chaise, et 
Vapprlloit on maistre Maugis.'' 1 This Salamancan Domdaniei 



214 APPENDIX TO THE 

is said to have been founded by Hercules. If the classic reader 
enquires where Hercules himself learned magic, he may consult 
" Les faicts et proesses du noble et vaillant Hercules" where 
he will learn, that the fable of his aiding Atlas to support the 
heavens, arose from the said Atlas having taught Hercules, the 
noble knight-errant, the seven liberal sciences, and in particular, 
that of judicial astrology. Such, according to the idea of the 
middle ages, were the studies, "maximus quce docuit Atlas." — 
In a romantic history of Roderic, the last Gothic King of Spain, 
he is said to have entered one of those enchanted caverns. It 
was situated beneath an ancient tower near Toledo ; and when 
the iron gates, which secured the entrance, were unfolded, there 
rushed forth so dreadful a whirlwind, that hitherto no one had 
dared to penetrate into its recesses. But Roderic, threatened 
with an invasion of the Moors, resolved to enter the cavern, 
where he expected to find some prophetic intimation of the event 
of the war. Accordingly, his train being furnished with torches, 
so artificially composed that the tempest could not extinguish 
them, the King, with great difficulty, penetrated into a square 
hall, inscribed all over with Arabian characters. In the midst 
stood a colossal statue of brass, representing a Saracen wielding 
a Moorish mace, with which it discharged furious blows on all 
sides, and seemed thus to excite the tempest which raged around. 
Being conjured by Roderic, it ceased from striking, until he read, 
inscribed on the right hand, " Wretched Monarch, for thy evil 
hast thou come hither ;" on the left hand, " Thou shalt be dis- 
possessed by a strange people ;" on one shoulder, " / invoke the 
sons of Hagar f on the other, " I do mine office." When the 
King had deciphered these ominous inscriptions, the statue re- 
turned to its exercise, the tempest commenced anew, and Rode- 
ric retired, to mourn over the predicted evils which approached 
his throne. He caused the gates of the cavern to be locked and 
barricaded ; but, in the course of the night, the tower fell with a 
tremendous noise, and under its ruins concealed for ever the 
entrance to the mystic cavern. The conquest of Spain by the 
Saracens, and the death of the unfortunate Don Roderic, fulfilled 
'.he prophecy of the brazen statue. Historia verdadera del Rey 
Don Rodrigo por el sabio Alcayde Abulcacim, traduzeda de la 
lengua Arabiga por Miquel de Luna, 1654, cap. vk 



I \\ OP THE LAST MINSTREL. 215 

Note Q. 
The bells would ring in Notre Dame. — P. 68. 

" Tantamne rem tarn negligenter ?" says Tyrwhitt, of his pre- 
decessor, Speight; who, in his commentary on Chaucer, had 
omitted, as trivial and fabulous, the story of Wade and his boat 
Guingelot, to the great prejudice of posterity, the memory of the 
hero and the boat being now entirely lost. That future antiqua- 
ries may lay no such omission to my charge, I have noted one or 
two of the most current traditions concerning Michael Scott. He 
was chosen, it is said, to go upon an embassy, to obtain from the 
King of France satisfaction for certain piracies committed by his 
subjects upon those of Scotland. Instead of preparing a new 
equipage and splendid retinue, the ambassador retreated to his 
study, opened his book, and evoked a fiend in the shape of a huge 
black horse, mounted upon his back, and forced him to fly through 
the air towards France. As they crossed the sea, the devil insi- 
diously asked his rider, What it was that the old women of Scot- 
land muttered at bed-time 1 A less experienced wizard might 
have answered that it was the Pater Noster, which would have 
licensed the devil to precipitate him from his back. But Michael 
sternly replied, " What is that to thee ! — Mount, Diabolus, and 
fly !" When he arrived at Paris, he tied his horse to the gate 
of the palace, entered, and boldly delivered his message. An 
ambassador, with so little of the pomp and circumstance of diplo- 
macy, was not received with much respect, and the King was 
about to return a contemptuous refusal to his demand, when Mi- 
chael besought him to suspend his resolution till he had seen his 
horse stamp three times. The first stamp shook every steeple in 
Paris, and caused all the bells to ring ; the second threw down 
three of the towers of the palace ; and the infernal steed had 
lifted his hoof to give the third stamp, when the King rather 
chose to dismiss Michael, with the most ample concessions, than 
to stand to the probable consequences. Another time, it is said, 
that, when residing at the Tower of Oakwood, upon the Ettrick, 
about three miles above Selkirk, he heard of the fame of a sor- 
ceress, called the Witch of Falsehope, who lived on the opposite 
side of the river. Michael went one morning to put her skill to 



21(5 APPENDIX TO THE 

the test, but was disappointed, by her denying positively any 
knowledge of the necromantic art. In his discourse with her, 
he laid his wand inadvertently on the table, which the hag ob- 
serving, suddenly snatched it up, and struck him with it. Feel- 
ing the force of the charm, he rushed out of the house ; but, as 
it had conferred on him the external appearance of a hare, his 
servant, who waited without, halloo'd upon the discomfited wizard 
his own greyhounds, and pursued him so close, that in order to 
obtain a moment's breathing to reverse the charm, Michael, after 
a very fatiguing course, was fain to take refuge in his own jaw- 
hole (Anglice, common sewer.) In order to revenge himself of 
the witch of Falsehope, Michael, one morning in the ensuing 
harvest, went to the hill above the house with his dogs, and sent 
down his servant to ask a bit of bread from the good wife for his 
greyhounds, with instructions what to do if he met with a denial. 
Accordingly, when the witch had refused the boon with con- 
tumely, the servant, as his master had directed, laid above the 
door a paper which he had given him, containing, amongst many 
cabalistical words, the well-known rhyme, — 

"Maister Michael Scott's man 
Sought meat, and gat nane." 

Immediately the good old woman, instead of pursuing her do- 
mestic occupation, which was baking bread for the reapers, began 
to dance round the fire, repeating the rhyme, and continued this 
exercise till her husband sent the reapers to the house, one after 
another, to see what had delayed their provision ; but the charm 
caught each as they entered, and, losing all idea of returning^ 
they joined in the dance and chorus. At length the old man 
himself went to the house ; but as his wife's frolic with Mr. Mi- 
chael, whom he had seen on the hill, made him a little cautious, 
he contented himself with looking in at the window, and saw the 
reapers at their involuntary exercise, dragging his wife, now 
completely exhausted, sometimes round, and sometimes through, 
the fire, which was, as usual, in the midst of the house. Instead 
of entering, he saddled a horse, and rode up the hill, to humble 
himself before Michael, and beg a cessation of the spell ; which 
the good-natured warlock immediately granted, directing him to 
enter the house backwards, and, with his left hand, take the spell 
from above the door ; which accordingly ended the supernatural 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 217 

dance. — This bate was told less particularly in former editions, 
and I have been censured for inaccuracy in doing so. — A similar 
charm occurs in Huon de Bourdeaux, and in the ingenious Ori- 
ental tale, called the Caliph Vathek. 

Notwithstanding his victory over the witch of Falsehope, 
Michael Scott, like his predecessor Merlin, fell at last a victim 
to female art. His wife, or concubine, elicited from him the 
secret, that his art could ward off any danger except the poison- 
ous qualities of broth, made of the flesh of a breme sow. Such 
a mess she accordingly administered to the wizard, who died in 
consequence of eating it ; surviving, however, long enough to 
put to death his treacherous confidant. 

Note R. 

That lamp shall burn unquenchably, 
Until the eternal doom shall be. — P. 70. 

Baptista Porta, and other authors who treat of natural magic, 
talk much of eternal lamps, pretended to have been found burn- 
ing in ancient sepulchres. Fortunius Licetus investigates the 
subject in a treatise, De Lucernis Antiquorum Reconditis, pub- 
lished at Venice, 1621. One of these perpetual lamps is said to 
have been discovered in the tomb of Tulliola, the daughter of 
Cicero. The wick was supposed to be composed of asbestos. 
Kircher enumerates three different recipes for constructing such 
lamps ; and wisely concludes, that the thing is nevertheless im- 
possible. — Mundus Subterranneus, p. 72. Delrio imputes the 
fabrication of such lights to magical skill. — Disquisitiones 
Magica, p. 58. In a very rare romance, which " treateth of the 
life of Virgilius, and of his deth, and many marvayles that he 
dyd in his lyfe-time, by wychecrafte and nygramancye, throughe 
the helpe of the devyls of hell," mention is made of a very 
extraordinary process in which one of these mystical lamps was 
employed. It seems that Virgil, as he advanced in years, became 
desirous of renovating his youth by magical art. For this 
purpose he constructed a solitary tower, having only one narrow 
pcrtal, in which he placed twenty- four copper figures, armed 
with iron flails, twelve on each side of the porch. These 

Vol. I. 20 



218 APPENDIX TO THE 

enchanted statues struck with their flails incessantly, and ren 
dered all entrance impossible, unless when Virgil touched the 
spring, which stopped their motion. To this tower he repaired 
privately, attended by one trusty servant, to whom he communi- 
cated the secret of the entrance, and hither they conveyed all 
the magician's treasure. " Then sayde Virgilius, my dere 
beloved frende, and he that I above alle men truste and knowe 
mooste of my secret ;" and then he led the man into a cellar, 
where he made a fayer lamp at all seasons burnynge. " And 
then sayd Virgilius to the man, ' Se you the barrel that standeth 
here?' and he sayd, yea: ' Therein must thou put me : fyrst ye 
must slee me, and hewe me smalle to pieces, and cut my hed in 
iiii pieces, and salte the heed under in the bottom, and then the 
pieces there after, and my herte in the myddel, and then set the 
barrel under the lampe, that nyghte and day the fat therein may 
droppe and leake ; and ye shall ix dayes long, ones in the day, 
fyll the lampe, and fayle nat. And when this is all done, then 
shall I be renued, and made yonge agen.' " At this extraordi- 
nary proposal, the confidant was sore abashed, and made some 
scruple of obeying his master's commands. At length, however, 
he complied, and Virgil was slain, pickled, and barrelled up, in 
all respects according to his own direction. The servant then 
left the tower, taking care to put the copper thrashers in motion 
at his departure. He continued daily to visit the tower with the 
same precaution. Meanwhile, the emperor, with whom Virgil 
was a great favourite, missed him from the court, and demanded 
of his servant where he was. The domestic pretended ignorance, 
till the emperor threatened him with death, when at length he 
conveyed him to the enchanted tower. The same threat extort- 
ed a discovery of the mode of stopping the statues from wielding 
their flails. " And then the emperour entered into the castle 
with all his folke, and sought all aboute in every corner after 
Virgilius ; and at the laste they soughte so longe, that they came 
into the seller, where they sawe the lampe hang over the barrell, 
where Virgilius lay in deed. Then asked the emperour the man, 
who had made hym so herdy to put his mayster Virgilius so to 
dethe ; and the man answered no worde to the emperour. And 
then the emperour, with great anger, drewe out his sworde, and 
slewe he there Virgilius' man. And when all this was done, 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 219 

then sawe the empcrour, and all his folke, a naked child iii tymes 
rennynge about the barrell, saynge these wordes, ' Cursed be the 
tyme that ye ever came here.' And with those words vanyshed 
the chylde awaye, and was never sene ageyn ; and thus abyd 
Virgilius in the barrell deed." — Virgilius, bl. let, printed at 
Antwerpe by John Doesborcke. This curious volume is in the 
valuable library of Mr. Douce; and is supposed to be a transla- 
tion from the French, printed in Flanders for the English market. 
See Gonjpt Biblioth. Franc, ix. 225. Catalogue de la Bib- 
liolheque Nationale, torn. ii. p. 5. De Bure, No. 3857. 

Note S. 
The Baron? s Dwarf his courser held. — P. 76. 

The idea of Lord Cranstoun's Goblin Page is taken from a 
being called Gilpin Horner, who appeared, and made some stay, 
at a farm-house among the Border-mountains. A gentleman of 
that country has noted down the following particulars concerning 
his appearance : — 

" The only certain, at least most probable account, that ever I 
heard of Gilpin Horner, was from an old man, of the name of 
Anderson, who was born, and lived all his life, at Todshaw-hill, 
in Eskedale-muir, the place where Gilpin appeared and staid for 
some time. He said there were two men, late in the evening, 
when it was growing dark, employed in fastening the fiorses upon 
the uttermost part of their ground, (that is, tying their forefeet 
together, to hinder them from travelling far in the night,) when 
they heard a voice, at some distance, crying, ' Tint! tint! tint!" 11 
One of the men, named Moffat, called out, « What deil has tint 
you ] Come here.' Immediately a creature, of something like a 
human form, appeared. It was surprisingly little, distorted in 
features, and misshapen in limbs. As soon as the two men could 
see it plainly, they ran home in a great fright, imagining they had 
met with some goblin. By the way Moffat fell, and it ran over 
him, and was home at the house as soon as either of them, and 
staid there a long time; but I cannot say how long. It was real 
flesh and blood, and ate and drank, was fond of cream, and, when 

1 Tint signifies lost. 



220 APPENDIX TO THE 

it could get at it, would destroy a great deal. It seemed a mis- 
chievous creature ; and any of the children whom it could master, 
it would beat and scratch without mercy. It was once abusing 
a child belonging to the same Moffat, who had been so frightened 
by its first appearance ; and he, in a passion, struck it so violent 
a blow upon the side of the head, that it tumbled upon the 
ground ; but it was not stunned ; for it set up its head directly,, 
and exclaimed, • Ah hah, Will o' Moffat, you strike sair !' (viz. 
sore.) After it had staid there long, one evening, when the 
women were milking the cows in the loan, it was playing among 
the children near by them, when suddenly they heard a loud shrill 
voice cry, three times, ' Gilpin Horner /' It started, and said, 
' That is me, I must away,'* and instantly disappeared, and was 
never heard of more. Old Anderson did not remember it, but 
said, he had often heard his father, and other old men in the 
place, who were there at the time, speak about it ; and in my 
younger years I have often heard it mentioned, and never met 
with any who had the remotest doubt as to the truth of the story ; 
although, I must own, I cannot help thinking there must be some 
misrepresentation in it." — To this account, I have to add the 
following particulars from the most respectable authority. Besides 
constantly repeating the word tint ! tint ! Gilpin Horner was 
often heard to call upon Peter Bertram, or Be-te-ram, as he pro- 
nounced the word ; and when the shrill voice called Gilpin Hor- 
ner, he immediately acknowledged it was the summons of the 
said Peter Bertram : who seems therefore to have been the devil 
who had tint, or lost, the little imp. As much has been objected 
to Gilpin Horner on account of his being supposed rather a device 
of the author than a popular superstition, I can only say, that no 
legend which I ever heard seemed to be more universally credited, 
and that many persons of very good rank and considerable infor- 
mation are well known to repose absolute faith in the tradition. 

Note T. 

But the Ladye of Branksome gathered a band 

Of the best that would ride at her command. — P. 78. 

" Upon 25th June, 1557, Dame Janet Beatoune Lady Buc- 
cleuch, and a great number of the name of Scott, delaitit (accused) 
for coming to the kirk of St. Mary of the Lowes, to the number 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 221 

of two hundred persons bodin in feire of weire, (arrayed in 
armour,) and breaking open the door of the said kirk, in order to 
apprehend the Laird of Cranstoune for his destruction." On the 
20th July, a warrant from the Queen is presented, discharging 
the justice to proceed against the Lady Buccleuch while new 
calling. — Abridgement of Books of Adjournal, in Advocates' Li- 
brary. — The following proceedings upon this case appear on the 
record of the Court of Justiciary : On the 25th of June, 1557, 
Robert Scott, in Bowhill parish, priest of the kirk of St. Mary's, 
accused of the convocation of the Queen's lieges, to the number 
of 200 persons, in warlike array, with jacks, helmets, and other 
weapons, and marching to the chapel of St. Mary of the Lowes, 
for the slaughter of Sir Peter Cranstoun, out of ancient feud and 
malice prepense, and of breaking the doors of the said kirk, is 
repledged by the Archbishop of Glasgow. The bail given by 
Robert Scott of Allanhaugh, Adam Scott of Burnfute, Robert 
Scott in Howfurde, Walter Scott in Todshawhaugh, Walter Scott 
younger of Synton, Thomas Scott of Hayning, Robert Scott, 
William Scott, and James Scott, brothers of the said Walter 
Scott, Walter Scott in the Woll, and Walter Scott, son of Wil- 
liam Scott of Harden, and James Wemyss in Eckford, all accused 
of the same crime, is declared to be forfeited. On the same day, 
Walter Scott of Synton, and Walter Chisholme of Chisholme, 
and William Scott of Harden, became bound, jointly and seve- 
rally, that Sir Peter Cranstoun, and his kindred and servants, 
should receive no injury from them in future. At the same time, 
Patrick Murray of Fallohill, Alexander Stuart, uncle to the 
Laird of Trakwhare, John Murray of Newhall, John Fairly e, 
residing in Selkirk, George Tait, younger of Pirn, John Penny- 
cuke of Pennycuke, James Ramsay of Cokpen, the Laird of Fas- 
syde, and the Laird of Henderstoune, were all severally fined 
for not attending as jurors; being probably either in alliance 
with the accused parties, or dreading their vengeance. Upon the 
20th of July following, Scott of Synton, Chisholme of Chisholme, 
Scott of Harden, Scott of Howpaslie, Scott of Burnfute, with 
many others, are ordered to appear at next calling, under the 
pains of treason. But no farther procedure seems to have taken 
place. It is said, that, upon this rising, the kirk of St. Mary was 
burnt by the Scotts. 
" 20 * 



222 APPENMX TO THE 

Note U. 

All was delusion, nought was truth. — P. 87. 

Glamour, in the legends of Scottish superstition, means the* 
magic power of imposing on the eyesight of the spectators, so 
that the appearance of an objeet shall be totally different from 
the reality. The transformation of Michael Scott by the witch 
of Falsehope, already mentioned, was a genuine operation of 
glamour. To a similar charm the ballad of Johnny Fa' imputes 
the fascination of the lovely Countess, who eloped with that gipsy 
leader : — 

"Sae soon as they saw her weel-far'd face, 
They cast the glamour o'er her." 

It was formerly used even in war. In 1381, when the Duke of 
Anjou lay before a strong castle, upon the coast of Naples, a 
necromancer offered to "make the ayre so thycke, that they 
within shall thynke that there is a great bridge on the see (by 
which the castle was surrounded) for ten men to go a front ; and 
whan they within the castle se this bridge, they will be so 
afrayde, that they shall yelde them to your mercy. The Duke 
demanded, — ' Fay re Master, on this bridge that ye speke of, may 
our people assuredly go thereon to the castell to assayle if?' — 
* Syr,' quod the enchantour, fr I dare not assure you that ; for if 
any that passeth on the bridge make the signe of the crosse on 
hym, all shall go to noughte, and they that be on the bridge shall 
fall into the see.' Then the Duke began to laugh ; and a certain 
of young knightes, that were there present, said, ' Syr, for god- 
sake, let the mayster assey his cunning : we shal leve making 
of any signe of the crosse on us for that tyme.' " The Earl of 
Savoy, shortly after, entered the tent, and recognised in the 
enchanter the same person who had put the castle into the power 
of Sir Charles de la Payx, who then held it, by persuading the 
garrison of the Queen of Naples, through magical deception, 
that the sea was coming over the walls. The sage avowed the 
feat, and added, that he was the man in the world most dreaded 
by Sir Charles de la Payx. " ' By my fayth,' quod the Earl of 
Savoy, ' ye say well ; and I will that Syr Charles de la Payx 
shall know that he hath gret wronge to fear you. But I shall 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 223 

assure hym of you ; for ye shall never do enchantment to deceyve 
nym, nor yet none other. I wolde nat that in tyme to come we 
shulde be reproached that in so high an enterprise as we be in, 
wherein there be so many noble knyghtes and squyres assembled, 
that we shulde do any thyng be enchantment, nor that we shulde 
wyn our enemys be suche crafte.' Then he called to him a ser- 
vaunt, and said, ' Go and get a hangman, and let him stryke of 
this mayster's heed without delay ;' and as soone as the Erie had 
commanded it, incontynent it was done, for his heed was stryken 
of before the Erie's tent." — Froissart, vol. i. ch. 391, 392. 

The art of glamour, or other fascination, was anciently a prin- 
cipal part of the skill of the jongleur, or juggler, whose tricks 
formed much of the amusement of a Gothic castle. Some in- 
stances of this art may be found in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish 
Border. In a strange allegorical poem, called the Houlat, writ- 
ten by a dependant of the house of Douglas, about 1452-3, the 
jay, in an assembly of birds, plays the part of the juggler. Hia 
feats of glamour are thus described ; — 

" He gart them see, as it seemt in samyn houre. 

Hunting at herdis in holtis so hair; 
Some sailand on the see schippis of toure. 
Bernis battalland on burd brim as a bare; 
He coulde carye the coup of the kingis des, 
Syne leve in the stede, 
Bot a black bunwede ; 
He could of a henis hede 
Make a man mes. 

" He gart the Emproure trow, and trewlye behald, 

That the corncraik, the pundare at hand, 
Had poyndit all bis pris hors in a poynd fald, 

Because thai ete of the corn in the kirkland. 
He could wirk windaris, quhat way that he waJd, 

Mak a gray gus a gold garland, 
A lang spere of a bittile, for a berne bald, 

Nobilis of nutschelles, and silver of sand. 
Thus joukit with juxters the janglane ja, 

Fair ladyes in ringis, 

Knychtis in caralyngis, 

Bayth dansis and singis, 
It semyt as sa." 



224 APPENDIX TO THE 



Note V. 



Now, if you ask who gave the stroke, 

1 cannot tell, so mot I thrive ; 

It was not given by man alive. — P. 88. 

Dr. Henry More, in a letter piefixed to Glanville's Saducismus 
Triumphatus, mentions a similar phenomenon. 

"I remember an old gentleman in the country, of my acquaint- 
ance, an excellent justice of the peace, and a piece of a mathe- 
matician ; but what kind of a philosopher he was, you may under- 
stand from a rhyme of his own making, which he commended 
to me at my taking horse in his yard, which rhyme is this : — 

' Ens is nothing till sense finds out ; 

Sense ends in nothing, so naught goes about.' 

Which rhyme of his was so rapturous to himself, that on the re- 
citing of the second verse, the old man turned himself about upon 
his toe as nimbly as one may observe a dry leaf whisked round the 
corner of an orchard-walk by some little whirlwind. With this 
philosopher I have had many discourses concerning the immor- 
tality of the soul and its distinction ; when I have run him quite 
down by reason, he would but laugh at me, and say, this is logic, 
H. (calling me by my Christian name ;) to which I replyed, this 
is reason, father L. (for so I used and some others to call him ;) 
but it seems you are for the new lights, and immediate inspiration, 
which I confess he was as little for as for the other ; but I said so 
only in the way of drollery to him in those times, but truth is, 
nothing but palpable experience would move him; and being a 
bold man, and fearing nothing, he told me he had used all the 
magical ceremonies of conjuration he could, to raise the devil or 
a spirit, and had a most earnest desire to meet with one, but never 
could do it. But this he told me, when he did not so much as 
think of it, while his servant was pulling off his boots in the hall, 
some invisible hand gave him such a clap upon the back, that it 
made all ring again ; ' so,' thought he now, ' I am invited to the 
converse of my spirit,' and therefore, so soon as his boots were off, 
and his shoes on, out he goes into the yard and next field, to find 
out the spirit that had given him this familiar clap on the back, 
but found none neither in the yard nor field next to it. 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 225 

" But though he did not feel this stroke, albeit he thought it 
afterwards (finding nothing came of it) a mere delusion ; yet not 
long before his death, it had more force with him than all the phi- 
losophical arguments I could use to him, though I could wind him 
and nonplus him as I pleased ; but yet all my arguments, how 
solid soever, made no impression upon him; wherefore, after 
several reasonings of this nature, whereby I would prove to him 
the soul's distinction from the body, and its immortality, when 
nothing of such subtile consideration did any more execution on 
his mind than some lightning is said to do, though it melts the 
sword, on the fuzzy consistency of the scabbard,—' Well,' said I, 
' father L., though none of these things move you, I have some- 
thing still behind, and what yourself has acknowledged to be 
true, that may do the business :— Do you remember the clap on 
your back when your servant was pulling off your boots in the 
halll Assure yourself, says I, father L., that goblin will be the 
first to bid you welcome into the other world.' Upon that his 
countenance changed most sensibly, and he was more confounded 
with this rubbing up his memory, than with all the rational or 
philosophical argumentations that I could produce." 

Note W. 

But she has ta'en the broken lance, 
And wasVd it from the clotted gore, 
And salved the splinter o'er and o'er. — P. 95. 

Sir Kenelm Digby, in a discourse upon the cure by sympathy, 
pronounced at Montpelier before an assembly of nobles and 
learned men, translated into English by R. White, gentleman, and 
published in 1658, gives us the following curious surgical case: — 

" Mr. James Howel (well known in France for his public 
works, and particularly for his Dendrologie, translated into 
French by Mons. Baudouin) coming by chance, as two of his best 
friends were fighting in duel, he did his endeavour to part them ; 
and, putting himselfe between them, seized, with his left hand, 
upon the hilt of the sword of one of the combatants, while, with 
his right nand, he laid hold of the blade of the other. They, 
being transported with fury one against the other, struggled to 
rid themselves of the hinderance their friend made, that they 



226 APPENDIX TO THE 

should not kill one another; and one of them roughly drawing the 
blade of his sword, cuts to the very bone the nerves and muscles 
of Mr. Howel's hand ; and then the other disengaged his hilts 
and gave a crosse blow on his adversarie's head, which glanced 
towards his friend, who heaving up his sore hand to save the 
blow, he was wounded on the back of his hand as he had been 
before within. It seems some strange constellation reigned then 
against him, that he should lose so much bloud by parting two 
such dear friends, who, had they been themselves, would have 
hazarded both their lives to have preserved his; but this involun- 
tary effusion of bloud by them, prevented that which they sholde 
have drawn one from the other. For they, seeing Mr. Howel's 
face besmeared with bloud, by heaving up his wounded hand, 
they both ran to embrace him ; and, having searched his hurts, 
they bound up his hand with one of his garters, to close the veins 
which were cut, and bled abundantly. They brought him home, 
and sent for a surgeon. But this being heard at court, the King 
sent one of his own surgeons ; for his Majesty much affected the 
said Mr. How el. 

" It was my chance to be lodged hard by him ; and four or five 
days after, as I was making myself ready, he came to my house, 
and prayed me to view his wounds : ' for I understand,' said he, 
1 that you have extraordinary remedies on such occasions, and my 
surgeons apprehend some fear that it may grow to a gangrene, 
and so the hand must be cut off.' In effect, his countenance dis- 
covered that he was in much pain, which he said was insupport- 
able, in regard of the extreme inflammation. I told him I would 
willingly serve him ; but if haply he knew the manner how I 
would cure him, without touching or seeing him, it may be he 
would not expose himself to my manner of curing, because he 
would think it, peradventure, either ineffectual or superstitious. 
He replied, 'the wonderful things which many have related unto 
me of your way of medicament, makes me nothing doubt at all 
of its efficacy ; and all that I have to say unto you is comprehend- 
ed in the Spanish proverb, Hagase el milagro y hagalo Mahoma 
— Let the miracle be done, though Mahomet do it.' 

"I asked him then for any thing that had the bloud upon it; 
so he presently sent for his garter, wherewith his hand was first 
bound ; and as I called for a basin of water, as if I would wash 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 227 

my hands, I took a handful of powder of vitriol, which I had in my 
study, and presently dissolved it. As soon as the bloudy garter 
was brought me, I put it within the bason, observing, in the in- 
terim, what Mr. Howel did, who stood talking- with a gentleman 
in a corner of my chamber, not regarding- at all what I was doing- ; 
but he started suddenly, as if he found some strange alteration 
in himself. I asked him what he ailed 1 ' I know not what 
ailes me ; but I finde that I feel no more pain. Methinks that 
a pleasing kinde of freshnesse, as it were a wet cold napkin, did 
spread over my hand, which hath taken away the inflammation 
that tormented me before.'— I replied, ' Since then that you feel 
already so good effect of my medicament, I advise you to cast 
away all your playsters; only keep the wound clean, and in a 
moderate temper betwixt heat and cold.' This was presently 
reported to the Duke of Buckingham, and a little after to the 
King, who were both very curious to know the circumstance of 
the businesse, which was, that after dinner I took the garter out 
of the water, and put it to dry before a great fire. It w T as scarce 
dry, but Mr. Howel's servant came running, that his master felt 
as much burning as ever he had done, if not more ; for the heat 
was such as if his hand were 'twixt coles of fire. I answered, 
although that had happened at present, yet he should find ease 
in a short time ; for I knew the reason of this new accident, and 
w T ould provide accordingly ; for his master should be free from 
that inflammation, it may be before he could possibly return to 
him ; but in case he found no ease, I wished him to come pre- 
sently back again; if not, he might forbear coming. Thereupon 
he went ; and at the instant I did put again the garter into the 
water, thereupon he found his master without any pain at all. 
To be brief, there was no sense of pain afterward ; but within 
five or six dayes the wounds were cicatrized, and entirely heal- 
ed."— Page 6. 

The King (James VI.) obtained from Sir Kenelm the discovery 
of his secret, which he pretended had been taught him by a 
Carmelite friar, who had learned it in Armenia, or Persia. Let 
not the age of animal magnetism and metallic tractors smile at 
the sympathetic powder of Sir Kenelm Digby. Reginald Scott 
mentions the same mode of cure in these terms : — " And that 
which is more strange they can remedie anie stranger 



228 APPENDIX TO THE 

with that verie sword wherewith they are wounded. Yea, and 
that which is beyond all admiration, if they stroke the sword 
upward with their fingers, the partie shall feele no pain ; whereas, 
if they draw their fingers downwards, thereupon the partie 
wounded shall feele intolerable pain." I presume that the suc- 
cess ascribed to the sympathetic mode of treatment might arise 
from the pains bestowed in washing the wound, and excluding 
the air, thus bringing on a cure by the first intention. It is 
introduced by Dryden in the Enchanted Island, a (very unneces- 
sary) alteration of the Tempest : — 

" Ariel. Anoint the sword which pierced him with this 

Weapon-salve, and wrap it close from air, 

Till I have time to visit him again." — Act v. sc.'2. 

Again, in scene 4th, Miranda enters with Hippolito's sword 
wrapt up : — 

" Hip. O my wound pains me ! 

Mir. I am come to ease you. [She unwraps the Sword. 

Hip. Alas, I feel the cold air come to me; 
My wound shoots worse than ever. 

Mir. Does it still grieve you ? [She wipes and anoints the Sword 

Hip. Now, methinks, there's something laid just upon it. 

Mir. Do you find no ease ? 

Hip. Yes, yes ; upon the sudden all this pain 
Is leaving me. Sweet heaven, how I am eased !" 

Note X. 
Our kin, and clan, and friends to raise. — P. 98. 

The speed with which the Borderers collected great bodies of 
horse, may be judged of from the following extract, when the 
subject of the rising was much less important than that supposed 
in the romance. It is taken from Carey's Memoirs : — 

" Upon the death of the old Lord Scroop, the Queen gave the 
west wardenry to his son, that had married my sister. He hav- 
ing received that office, came to me with great earnestness, and 
desired me to be his deputy, offering me that I should live with 
him in his house; that he would allow me half a dozen men, and 
as many horses, to be kept at his charge; and his fee being 1000 
merks yearly, he would part it with me, and I should have the 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 229 

half. This his noble offer I accepted of, and went with him to 
Carlisle; where I was no sooner come, but I entered into my 
office. We had a stirring time of it ; and few days past over 
my head but I was on horseback, either to prevent mischief, or 
take malefactors, and to bring the Border in better quiet than it 
nad been in times past. One memorable thing of God's mercy 
showed unto me, was such as I have good cause still to remem- 
ber it. 

" I had private intelligence given me, that there were two 
Scottishmen that had killed a churchman in Scotland, and were 
by one of the Graemes relieved. This Graeme dwelt within five 
miles of Carlisle. He had a pretty house, and close by it a 
strong tower, for his own defence in time of need. — About two 
o'clock in the morning, I took horse in Carlisle, and not above 
twenty-five in my company, thinking to surprise the house on a 
sudden. Before I could surround the house, the two Scots were 
gotten in the strong tower, and I could see a boy riding from the 
house as fast as his horse could carry him ; I little suspecting 
what it meant. But Thomas Carleton came to me presently, 
and told me, that if I did not presently prevent it, both myself 
and all my company would be either slain or taken prisoners. It 
was strange to me to hear this language. He then said to me, 
1 Do you see that boy that rideth away so fast 1 He will be in 
Scotland within this half hour; and he is gone to let them know, 
that you are here, and to what end you are come, and the small 
number you have with you ; and that if they will make haste, on 
a sudden they may surprise us, and do with us what they please.' 
Hereupon we took advice what was best to be done. We sent 
notice presently to all parts to raise the country, and to come to 
us with all the speed they could; and withall we sent to Carlisle 
to raise the townsmen ; for without foot we could do no good 
against the tower. There we staid some hours, expecting more 
company ; and within short time after the country came in on all 
sides, so that we were quickly between three and four hundred 
horse ; and, after some longer stay, the foot of Carlisle came to 
us, to the number of three or four hundred men ; whom we pre- 
sently set to work, to get to the top of the tower, and to uncover 
the roof; and then some twenty of them to fall down together, 
and by that means to win the tower. — The Scots, seeing their 

Vol. I. 21 



230 APPENDIX TO THE 

present danger, offered to parley, and yielded themselves to my 
mercy. They had no sooner opened the iron gate, and yielded 
themselves my prisoners, but we might see 400 horse within a 
quarter of a mile coming to their rescue, and to surprise me and 
my small company ; but of a sudden they stayed, and stood at 
gaze. Then had I more to do than ever ; for all our Borderers 
came crying, with full mouths, ' Sir, give us leave to set upon 
them; for these are they that have killed our fathers, our bro- 
thers, and uncles, and our cousins ; and they are coming, think- 
ing to surprise you, upon weak grass nags, such as they could 
get on a sudden ; and God hath put them into your hands, that 
we may take revenge of them for much blood that they have 
spilt of ours.' I desired they would be patient a while, and 
bethought myself, if I should give them their will, there would 
be few or none of the Scots that would escape unkilled ; (there 
was so many deadly feuds among them ;) and therefore I resolved 
with myself to give them a fair answer, but not to give them 
their desire. So I told them, that if I were not there myself, 
they might then do what they pleased themselves; but being 
present, if I should give them leave, the bleod that should be 
spilt that day would lie very hard upon my conscience. And 
therefore I desired them, for my sake, to forbear ; and, if the 
Scots did not presently make away with all the speed they could, 
upon my sending to them, they should then have their wills to do 
what they pleased. They were ill satisfied with rny answer, but 
durst not disobey. I sent with speed to the Scots, and bade them 
pack away with all the speed they could ; for if they stayed the 
messenger's return, they should few of them return to their own 
home. They made no stay ; but they were returned homewards 
before the messenger had made an end of his message. Thus, 
by God's mercy, I escaped a great danger ; and, by my means, 
there were a great many men's lives saved that day." 

Note Y. 

Showed sovthern ravage ivas begun. — P. 107. 

From the following fragment of a letter from the Earl of 
Northumberland to King Henry VIIL, preserved among the 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 231 

Cotton MSS. Calig. B. vii. 179, the reader may estimate the 
nature of the dreadful war which was occasionally waged upon 
the Borders, sharpened by mutual cruelties, and the personal 
hatred of the wardens, or leaders. 

Some Scottish Barons, says the Earl, had threatened to come 
within " three miles of my pore house of Werkworth, where I 
lye, and gif me light to put on my clothes at mydnight; and 
alsoo the said Marke Carr said there opynly, that, seyng they 
had a governor on the Marches of Scotland, as well as they had 
in Ingland, he shoulde kepe your highness instructions, gyffyn 
unto your garyson, for making of any day-forrey ; for he and his 
friends wolde burne enough on the nyght, lettyng your counsaill 
here defyne a notable acte at theyre pleasures. Upon whiche, 
in your highnes name, I comaundet dewe watche to be kepte on 
your Marchies, for comyng in of any Scotts. — Neuertheles, upon 
Thursday at night last, came thyrty light horsemen into a litil 
village of myne, called Whitell, having not past sex houses, 
lying towards Ryddisdaill, upon Shilbotell More, and there wold 
have fyred the said howses, but ther was no fyre to get there, 
and they forgate to brynge any withe theyme ; and took a wyf 
being great with chylde, in the said towne, and said to hyr, Wher 
we can not gyve the lard lyght, yet we shall doo this in spyte of 
hym ; and gyve her iii mortall wounds upon the heid, and another 
in the right side, with a dagger : whereupon the said wyf is 
deede, and the childe in her bely is loste. Beseeching your most 
gracious highness to reduce unto your gracious memory this wyl- 
ful and shamefull murder, done within this your highnes realme, 
notwithstanding all the inhabitants thereabout rose unto the said 
fray, and gave warnynge by becons into the countrey afore 
theyme, and yet the Scottsmen dyde escape. And uppon cer- 
teyne knowledge to my brother ClyfTorthe and me, had by cre- 
dible persons of Scotland, this abomynable act not only to be 
done by dyverse of the Mershe, but also the afore named persons 
of Tyvidaill, and consented to, as by appearance, by the Erie of 
Murey, upon Friday at night last, let slyp C of the best horse- 
men of Glendaill, with a parte of your highnes subjects of Ber- 
wyke, together with George Dowglas, whoo came into Ingland 
agayne, in the dawning of the day ; but afore theyre retorne, 
they dyd mar the Earl of Murreis provisions at Coldingham ; for 



232 APPENDIX TO THE 

they did not only burne the said town of Coldingham, with all 
the come thereunto belonging', which is esteemed wurthe cii 
marke sterling- ; but alsoo burned twa townes nye adjoining there- 
unto, called Branerdergest and the Black Hill, and toke xxiii per- 
sons, lx horse, with cc hed of cataill, which, no we as I am informed, 
hathe not only been a staye of the said Erie of Murreis not com- 
ing to the Bordure as yet, but alsoo, that none inlande man will 
adventure theyr self uppon the Marches. And as for the tax 
that shulde have been grauntyd for finding of the said iii hun- 
dred men, is utterly denyed. Upon which the King of Scotland 
departed from Edynburgh to Stirling, and as yet there doth 
remayn. And a-lso I, by the advice of my brother Clyfforth, have 
devysed, that within this iii nyghts, Godde willing, Kelsey, in 
like case, shall be brent, with all the corn in the said town ; and 
then they shall have noo place to lye any garyson in nygh unto 
the Borders. And as I shall atteigne further knowledge, I shall 
not faill to satisfye your highnes, according to my most bounden 
dutie. And for this burnyng of Kelsey is devysed to be done 
secretly, by Tyndaill and Ryddisdale. And thus the holy Try- 
nite and * * * your most royal estate, with long lyf, and as much 
increase of honour as your most noble heart can desire. At 
Werkworth the xxiid day of October." (1522.) 

Note Z. 

Belted Will Howard. — P. 109. 

Lord William Howard, third son of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, 
succeeded to Naworth Castle, and a large domain annexed to it, 
in right of his wife Elizabeth, sister of George Lord Dacre, who 
died without heirs male, in the 11th of Queen Elizabeth. By a 
poetical anachronism, he is introduced into the romance a few 
years earlier than he actually flourished. He was warden of the 
Western Marches ; and, from the rigour with which he repressed 
the Border excesses, the name of Belted Will Howard is still 
famous in our traditions. In the castle of Naworth, his apart- 
ments, containing a bedroom, oratory, and library, are still shown. 
They impress us with an unpleasing idea of the life of a lord 
warden of the Marches. Three or four strong doors, separating* 
these rooms from the rest of the castle, indicate the apprehen- 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 233 

sions of treachery from his garrison ; and the secret winding pas- 
sages, through which he could privately descend into the guard- 
room, or even into the dungeons, imply the necessity of no small 
degree of secret superintendence on the part of the governor. 
As the ancient books and furniture have remained undisturbed, 
the venerable appearance of these apartments, and the armour 
scattered around the chamber, almost lead us to expect the arrival 
of the warden in person. Naworth Castle is situated near 
Brampton, in Cumberland. Lord William Howard is ancestor 
of the Earls of Carlisle. 

Note A 2. 

Lord Dacre. — P. 109. 

The well-known name of Dacre is derived from the exploits 
of one of their ancestors at the siege of Acre, or Ptolemais, under 
Richard Cceur de Lion. There were two powerful branches of 
that name. The first family, called Lord Dacres of the South, 
held the castle of the same name, and are ancestors to the pre- 
sent Lord Dacre. The other family, descended from the same 
stock, were called Lord Dacres of the North, and were barons 
of Gilsland and Graystock. A chieftain of the latter branch was 
warden of the West Marches during the reign of Edward VI. 
He was a man of a hot and obstinate character, as appears from 
some particulars of Lord Surrey's letter to Henry VIII., giving 
an account of his behaviour at the siege and storm of Jedburgh. 
It is printed in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Appendix 
to the Introduction. 

Note B2. 

The German hackbut-men. — P. 110. 

In the wars with Scotland, Henry VIII. and his successors 
employed numerous bands of mercenary troops. At the battle 
of Pinky, there were in the English army six hundred hackbut- 
ters on foot, and two hundred on horseback, composed chiefly of 
foreigners. On the 27th of September, 1549, the Duke of 
Somerset, Lord Protector, writes to the Lord Dacre, warden of 
the W T est Marches; "The Almains, in number two thousand, 
21* 



234 APPENDIX TO THE 

very valiant soldiers, shall be sent to you shortly from Newcastle, 
together with Sir Thomas Holcroft, and with the force of your 
wardenry, (which we would were advanced to the most strength 
of horsemen that might be), shall make the attempt to Lough- 
maben, being of no such strength but that it may be skailed with 
ladders, whereof, beforehand, we would you caused secretly some 
number to be provided; or else undermined with the pyke-axe, 
and so taken: either to be kept for the King's Majesty, or other- 
wise to be defaced, and taken from the profits of the enemy. 
And in like manner the house of Carlaverock to be used." Re- 
peated mention occurs of the Almains, in the subsequent corre- 
spondence ; and the enterprise seems finally to have been aban- 
doned, from the difficulty of providing these strangers with the 
necessary " victuals and carriages in so poor a country as Dum- 
fries-shire." — History of Cumberland, vol. i. Introd. p. lxi. From 
the battle-pieces of the ancient Flemish painters, we learn, that 
the Low Country and German soldiers marched to an assault 
with their right knees bared. And we may also observe, in such 
pictures, the extravagance to which they carried the fashion of 
ornamenting their dress with knots of ribbon. This custom of 
the Germans is alluded to in the Mirrour for Magistrates, p. 121. 

"Their pleited garments therewith well accord, 
All jagde and frounst, with divers colours deckt." 

Note C 2. 

"Ready, aye ready,'''' for the field. — P. 111. 

Sir John Scott of Thirlestane flourished in the reign of James 
V., and possessed the estates of Thirlestane, Gamescleuch, &c, 
lying upon the river of Ettrick, and extending to St. Mary's Loch, 
at the head of Yarrow. It appears, that when Jamer had assem- 
bled his nobility, and their feudal followers, at Fala, with the pur- 
pose of invading England, and was, as isw T ell known, disappointed 
by the obstinate refusal of his peers, this baron alone declared 
himself ready to follow the King wherever he should lead. In 
memory of his fidelity, James granted to his family a charter of 
arms, entitling them to bear a border of fleurs-de-luce, similar to 
the tressure in the royal arms, with a bundle of spears for the 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 235 

crest ; motto, Ready, aye ready. The charter itself is printed by 
Nisbet; but his work being- scarce, I insert the following accurate 
transcript from the original, in the possession of the Right Hon- 
ourable Lord Napier, the representative of John of Thirlestaine. 

"James Rex. 

" We James, by the grace of God, King of Scottis, considerand 
the rTaith and guid servis of of of 1 right traist friend John Scott 
of Thirlestane, quha cummand to our hoste at Soutra-edge, with 
three score and ten launcieres on horseback of his friends and 
followers, and beand willing to gang with ws into England, when 
all our nobles and others refused, he was ready to stake at all our 
bidding ; ffor the quhilk cause, it is our will, and we doe straitlie 
command and charg our lion herauld and his deputies for the 
time beand, to give and to graunt to the said John Scott, ane 
Border of ffleure de Uses about his coatte of armes, silk as is on 
our royal banner, and aJsua ane bundell of launces above his hel- 
met, with thir words, Readdy, ay Readdy, that he and all his 
aflercummers may bruik the samine as a pledge and taiken of 
our guid will and kyndnes for his true worthines ; and thir our 
letters seen, ye nae wayes failzie to doe. Given at Ffalla Muire, 
under our hand and privy cashet, the xxvii day of July, m c and 
xxxii zeires. By the King's graces speciall ordinance. 

"Jo. Arskine." 
On the back of the charter is written, 

" Edin. 14 January, 1713. Registred, conform to the act of 
parliament made anent probative writs, per M'Kaile, pror. and 
produced by Alexander Borthwick, servant to Sir William Scott 
of Thirlestane, M. L. J." 

Note D 2. 
An aged Knight, to danger steeVd, 

With many a moss-trooper, came on ; 
And azure in a golden field, 
The stars and crescent graced his shield, 

Without the bend of Murdieston. — P. 111. 

The family of Harden are descended from a younger son of the 
Laird of Buccleuch, who flourished before the estate of Murdieston 

1 Sic in oris. 



236 APPENDIX TO THE 

was acquired by the marriage of one of those chieftains with the 
heiress, in 1296- Hence they bear the cognizance of the Scotts 
upon the field ; whereas those of the Buccleuch are disposed upon 
a bend dexter, assumed in consequence of that marriage. — See 
Gladstaine of Whitelawe's MSS., and Scott of Stokoe's Ped- 
igree> Newcastle, 1783. 

Walter Scott of Harden, who flourished during the reign of 
Queen Mary, was a renowned Border freebooter, concerning 
whom tradition has preserved a variety of anecdotes, some of 
which have been published in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Bor- 
der ; others in Leyden's Scenes of Infancy ; and others, more 
lately, in The Mountain Bard, a collection of Border ballads by 
Mr. James Hogg. The bugle-horn, said to have been used by 
this formidable leader, is preserved by his descendant, the present 
Mr. Scott of Harden. His castle was situated upon the very 
brink of a dark and precipitous dell, through which a scanty riv- 
ulet steals to meet the Borthwick. In the recess of this glen he 
is said to have kept his spoil, which served for the daily mainte- 
nance of his retainers, until the production of a pair of clean 
spurs, in a covered dish, announced to the hungry band, that they 
must ride for a supply of provisions. He was married to Mary 
Scott, daughter of Philip Scott of Dryhope, and called in song 
the Flower of Yarrow. He possessed a very extensive estate, 
which was divided among his five sons. There are numerous 
descendants of this old marauding Baron. The following beau- 
tiful passage of Leyden's Scenes of Infancy, is founded on a tra- 
dition respecting an infant captive, whom Walter of Harden car 
ried off in a predatory incursion, and who is said to have become 
the author of some of our most beautiful pastoral songs : — 

"Where Bortha hoarse, that loads the meads with sand, 
Rolls her red tide to Teviot's western strand, 
Through slaty hills, whose sides are shagg'd with thorn, 
Where springs, in scatter'd tufts, the dark-green corn, 
Towers wood-girt Harden, far above the vale, 
And clouds of ravens o'er the turrets sail. 
A hardy race, who never shrunk from war, 
The Scott, to rival realms a mighty bar. 
Here fixed his mountain-home ;— a wide domain, 
And rich the soil, had purple heath been grain; 
But what the niggard ground of wealth denied, 
From fields more bless'd his fearless arm supplied 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 237 

•The waning harvest-noon shone cold and bright; 
The warder's horn was heard at dead of night; 
And as the massy portals wide were flung, 
With stamping hoofs the rocky pavement rung. 
What fair, half-veil'd, leans from her latticed hall, 
Where red the wavering gleams of torchlight fall ? 
*Tis Yarrow's fairest Flower, who, through the gloom, 
Looks, wistful, for her lover's dancing plume. 
Amid the piles of spoil, that strew'd the ground, 
Her ear, all anxious, caught a wailing sound; 
With trembling haste the youthful matron flew, 
And from the hurried heaps an infant drew. 

" Scared at the light, his little hands he flung 
Around her neck, and to her bosom clung; 
While beauteous Mary soothed, in accents mild, 
His fluttering soul, and elasp'd her foster child. 
Of milder mood the gentle captive grew, 
Nor loved the scenes that scared his infant view; 
In vales remote, from camps and castles far, 
He shunn'd the fearful shuddering joy of war; 
Content he loves of simple swains to sing, 
Or wake to fame the harp's heroic string. 

•" His are the strains, whose wandering echoes thrill 
The shepherd, lingering on the twilight hill, 
When evening brings the merry folding hours, 
And sun-eyed daisies close their winking flowers. 
He lived o'er Yarrow's Flower to shed the tear, 
To strew the holly leaves o'er Harden's bier: 
But none was found above the minstrel's tomb, 
Emblem of peace, to bid the daisy bloom : 
He, nameless as the race from which he sprung, 
Saved other names, and left his own unsung." 

Note E 2. 

Knighthood he took of Douglas' sword. — P. 124 

The dignity of knighthood, according to the original institution, 
had this peculiarity, that it did not flow from the monarch, but 
could be conferred by one who himself possessed it, upon any 
squire who, alter due probation, was found to merit the honour 
of chivalry. Latterly, this power was confined to generals, who 
were wont to create knights bannerets after or before an engage- 



238 APPENDIX TO THE" 

ment. Even so late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Essex 
highly offended his jealous sovereign by the indiscriminate exer- 
tion of this privilege. Among others, he knighted the witty Sir 
John Harrington, whose favour at court was by no means en- 
hanced by his new honours. — See the Nugce Antiques, edited by 
Mr. Park. But probably the latest instance of knighthood, con- 
ferred by a subject, was in the case of Thomas Ker, knighted by 
the Earl of Huntley, after the defeat of the Earl of Argyle in the 
battle of Belrinnes. The fact is attested, both by a poetical and 
prose account of the engagement, contained in an ancient MS. 
in the Advocates' library, and edited by Mr. Dalyell, in Godly 
Sangs and Ballets, Edin. 1802. 

Note F 2. 

Let Musgrave meet fierce Deloraine 
In single fight. P. 127. 

It may easily be supposed, that trial by single combat, so pecu- 
liar to the feudal system, was common on the Borders. In 1558 f 
the well-known Kirkaldy of Grange fought a duel with Ralph 
Evre, brother to the then Lord Evre, in consequence of a dispute 
about a prisoner said to have been ill treated by the Lord Evre. 
Pitscottie gives the following account of the affair : — "The Lord 
of Ivers his brother provoked William Kirkaldy of Grange to fight 
with him, in singular combat, on horseback, with spears ; who, 
keeping the appointment, accompanied with Monsieur d'Ossel, 
lieutenant to the French King, and the garrison of Hay mouth, 
and Mr. Ivers, accompanied with the governor and garrison of 
Berwick, it was discharged, under the pain of treason, that any 
man should come near the champions within a flight-shot, except 
one man for either of them, to bear their spears, two trumpets, 
and two lords to be judges. When they were in readiness, the 
trumpets sounded, the heraulds cried, and the judges let them go. 
They then encountered very fiercely ; but Grange struck his spear 
through his adversary's shoulder, and bare him off his horse, 
being sore wounded : But whether he died, or not, is uncertain.'* 
— P. 202. 

The following indenture will show at how late a period the 



L\\ Of THE LAST MINSTREL. 239 

trial by combat was resorted to on the Border, as a proof of giiiit 

or innocence : — 

" It is agreed between Thomas Musgrave and Lancelot Carle- 
ton, for the true trial of such controversies as are betwixt them, 
to have it openly tried by way of combat, before God and the 
face of the world, to try it in Canonbyholme, before England 
and Scotland, upon Thursday in Easter-week, being the eighth 
day of April next ensuing, a. d. 1602, betwixt nine of the clock, 
and one of the same day, to fight on foot, to be armed with jack, 
steel cap, plaite sleeves, plaite breaches, plaite sockes, two 
basleard swords, the blades to be one yard and half a quarter in 
length, two Scotch daggers, or dorks, at their girdles, and either 
of them to provide armour and weapons for themselves, accord- 
ing to this indenture. Two gentlemen to be appointed, on the 
field, to view both the parties, to see that they both be equal in 
arms and weapons, according to this indenture; and being so 
viewed by the gentlemen, the gentlemen to ride to the rest of 
the company, and to leave them but two boys, viewed by the 
gentlemen, to be under sixteen years of age, to hold their horses. 
In testimony of this our agreement, we have both set our hands 
to this indenture, of intent all matters shall be made so plain, as 
there shall be no question to stick upon that day. Which inden- 
ture, as a witness, shall be delivered to two gentlemen. And 
for that it is convenient the world should be privy to every par- 
ticular of the grounds of the quarrel, we have agreed to set it 
down in this indenture betwixt us, that, knowing the quarrel, 
their eyes may be witness of the trial. 

THE GROUNDS OF THE QUARREL. 

" 1. Lancelot Carleton did charge Thomas Musgrave before 
the Lords of her Majesty's Privy Council, that Lancelot Carle- 
ton was told by a gentleman, one of her Majesty's sworn ser- 
vants, that Thomas Musgrave had offered to deliver her Majesty's 
Castle of Bewcastle to the King of Scots; and to witness the 
same, Lancelot Carleton had a letter under the gentleman's own 
hand for his discharge. 

" 2. He chargeth him, that whereas her Majesty doth yearly 
bestow a great fee upon him, as captain of Bewcastle, to aid and 



240 APPENDIX TO THE 

defend her Majesty's subjects therein : Thomas Musgrave hath 
neglected his duty, for that her Majesty's Castle of Bewcastle 
was by him made a den of thieves, and an harbour and receipt 
for murderers, felons, and all sorts of misdemeanors. The pre- 
cedent was Quintin Whitehead and Runion Blackburne. 

" 3. He chargeth him, that his office of Bewcastle is open tor 
the Scotch to ride in and through, and small resistance made by 
him to the contrary. 

" Thomas Musgrave doth deny all this charge ; and saith, that 
he will prove that Lancelot Carleton cloth falsely bely him, and 
will prove the same by way of combat, according to this inden- 
ture. Lancelot Carleton hath entertained the challenge ; and 
so, by God's permission, will prove it true as before, and hath set 
his hand to the same. 

(Signed) " Thomas Musgrave. 

" Lancelot Carleton." 



Note G 2. 

He, the jovial harper. — P. 129. 

The person here alluded to, is one of our ancient Border min- 
strels, called Rattling Roaring Willie. This soubriquet was 
probably derived from his bullying disposition ; being, it would 
seem, such a roaring boy, as is frequently mentioned in old plays. 
While drinking at Newmill, upon Teviot, about five miles above 
Hawick, Willie chanced to quarrel with one of his own profes- 
sion, who was usually distinguished by the odd name of Sweet 
Milk, from a place on Rule Water so called. They retired to a 
meadow on the opposite side of the Teviot, to decide the contest 
with their swords, and Sweet Milk was killed on the spot. A 
thorn-tree marks the scene of the murder, which is still called 
Sweet Milk Thorn. Willie was taken and executed at Jed- 
burgh, bequeathing his name to the beautiful Scotch air, called 
" Rattling Roaring Willie." Ramsay, who set no value on tra- 
ditionary lore, published a few verses of this song in the Tea- 
table Miscellany, carefully suppressing all which had any con- 
nexion with the history of the author and origin of the piece. 
In this case, however, honest Allan is in some degree justified, 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL, XM J 

by the extreme worthlessncss of the poetry. A verse or two 
may be taken, as illustrative of the history of Roaring Willie, 
alluded to in Ihe text : — 

" Now Willie 's gane to Jeddart, 

And he's fbr the rood-day; 1 
But Slobs and young Falnash 2 

They follow'd him a' the way; 
They follow'd him a' the way, 

They sought him up and down, 
In the links of Ousenam water 

They fand him sleeping sound. 

" Stobs light aff his horse, 

And never a word he spak, 
Till he tied Willie's hands 

Fu' fast behind his back ; 
Fu' fast behind his back, 

And down beneath his knee, 
And drink will be dear to Willie, 

When sweet milk 3 gars him die. 

" Ah wae light on ye, Stobs ! 

An ill death mot ye die; 
Ye're the first and foremost man 

That e'er laid hands on me; 
That e : er laid hands on me, 

And took my mare me frae ; 
Wae to you, Sir Gilbert Elliot! 

Ye are my mortal fae! 

" The lasses of Ousenam water 

Are rugging and riving their hair, 
And a' for the sake of Willie, 

His beauty was so fair: 
His beauty was so fair, 

And comely for to see, 
And drink will be dear to Willie, 

When sweet milk gars him die. 



1 The day of the Rood-fair at Jedburgh. 

2 Sir Gilbert Elliot of Stobs, and Scott of Falnash. 

3 A wretched pun on his antagonist's name. 

Vol. I. 22 



212 APPENDIX TO THE 

Note H 2. 
She wrought not by forbidden spell. — P. 163. 

Popular belief, though contrary to the doctrines of the Church, 
made a favourable distinction betwixt magicians, and necroman- 
cers, or wizards ; the former were supposed to command the evil 
spirits, and the latter to serve, or at least to be in league and 
compact with, those enemies of mankind. The arts of subjecting 
the demons were manifold ; sometimes the fiends were actually- 
swindled by the magicians, as in the case of the bargain betwixt 
one of their number and the poet Virgil. The classical reader 
will doubtless be curious to peruse this anecdote : — 

" Virgilius was at scole at Tolenton, where he stodyed dyly- 
gently, for he was of great understandynge. Upon a tyme, the 
scolers had lycense to go to play and sporte them in the fyldes, 
after the usance of the old tyme. And there was also Virgilius 
therbye, also walkynge among the hylles alle about. It fortuned 
he spyed a great hole in the syde of a great hyll, wherein he 
went so depe, that he culd not see no more lyght ; and than he 
went a lytell farther therein, and than he saw some lyght agayne, 
and than he went fourth streyghte, and within a lytell wyle, after 
he harde a voyce that called, ' Virgilius ! Virgilius !' and looked 
aboute, and he colde nat see no body. Than sayd he, (i. e. the 
voice,) ' Virgilius, see ye not the lytell borde lying byside you 
there marked with that word V Than answered Virgilius, ' I see 
that borde well anough.' The voyce said, ' Doo awaye that borde, 
and lette me out there atte.' Than answered Virgilius to the 
voice that was under the lytell borde, and said, ' Who art thou 
that callest me so V Than answered the devyll, ' I am a devyll 
conjured out of the bodye of a certeyne man, and banysshed here 
untyll the day of judgmend, without that I be delyvered by the 
handes of men. Thus Virgilius, I pray the, delyver me out of 
this payn, and I shall shewe unto the many books of negro- 
mancye, and how thou shalt come by it lyghtly, and know the 
practyse therein, that no man in the scyence of negromancye 
shall passe the. And moreover, I shall shewe and enforme the 
so, that thou shalt have alle thy desyre, whereby methinke it is 
a great gyfte for so lytyll a doyng. For ye may also thus all 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 243 

your power frendys helpe, and make rich your enemyes.' Tho- 
rough that great promyse was Virgilius tempted; he badde the 
fynd show the bokes tohym, that he might have and occupy them 
at his wyll ; and so the fynde shewed him. And than Virgilius 
pulled open a horde, and there was a lytell hole, and thereat wrang 
the devyll out like a yell, and cam and stode before Virgilius lyke 
a bigge man ; whereof Virgilius was astonied and marveyled 
greatly thereof, that so great a man myght come out at so lytell 
a hole. Than sayd Virgilius, ' Shulde ye well passe into the hole 
that ye cam out of]' — 'Yea, I shall do well,' said the devyll. — 
1 1 holde the best plegge that I have, that ye shall not do it.' — 
' Well,' said the devyll, ' thereto I consent.' And than the devyll 
wrange himselfe into the lytell hole ageyne; and as he was 
therein, Virgilius kyvcred the hole ageyne with the borde close, 
and so was the devyll begyled, and might nat there come out 
agen, but abideth shytte styll therein. Than called the devyll 
dredefully to Virgilius, and said, ' What have ye done, Virgilius V 
— Virgilius answered, « Abyde there styll to your day appoynted ;' 
and fro thens forth abydeth he there. And so Virgilius became 
very connynge in the practyse of the black scyence." 

This story may remind the reader of the Arabian tale of the 
Fisherman and the imprisoned Genie ; and it is more than proba- 
ble, that many of the marvels narrated in the life of Virgil, are 
of Oriental extraction. Among such I am disposed to reckon the 
following whimsical account of the foundation of Naples, con- 
taining the origin of the earthquakes with which it is afflicted. 
Virgil, who was a person of gallantry, had, it seems, carried off 
the daughter of a certain Soldan, and was anxious to secure his 
prize. 

"Than he thought in his mynde how he myghte marye hyr, 
and thought in his mynde to founde in the middes of the see a 
fayer towne, with great landes belongynge to it ; and so he did 
by his connynge, and called it Napeils. And the fandacyon of 
it was of egges, and in that town of Napeils he made a tower 
with iiii corners, and in the toppe he set an apell upon an yren 
yarde, and no man culde pull away that apell without he brake 
it ; and thorough e that yren set he a bolte, and in that bolte set 
he an egge. And he henge the apell by the stauke upon a cheyne, 
and so hangeth it still. And when the egge styrreth, so shulde 



244 APPENDIX TO THE 

the towne of Napells quake ; and when the egge brake, than 
shulde the towne sinke. Whan he had made an ende, he lette 
call it Napells." This appears to have been an article of current 
belief during the middle ages, as appears from the statutes of the 
order Du Saint Esprit au droit desir, instituted in 1352. A 
chapter of the knights is appointed to be held annually at the 
Castle of the Enchanted Egg, near the grotto of Virgil. — Mont- 
faijcon, vol. ii. p. 329. 

Note [ 2. 

Since old Buccleuch the name did gain, 

When in the clench the buck was ta'en. — P. 168. 

A tradition preserved by Scott of Satchells, who published, in 
1688, A true History of the Right Honourable name of Scott, 
gives the following romantic origin of that name. Two brethren, 
natives of Galloway, having been banished from that country for 
a riot, or insurrection, came to Rankleburn, in Ettrick Forest, 
where the keeper, whose name was Brydone, received them joy- 
fully, on account of their skill in winding the horn, and other 
mysteries of the chase. Kenneth MacAlpin, then King of Scot- 
land, came soon after to hunt in the royal forest, and pursued a 
buck from Ettrick-heuch to the glen now called Buckcleuch, about 
two miles above the junction of Rankleburn with the River 
Ettrick. Here the stag stood at bay ; and the King and his 
attendants, who followed on horseback, were thrown out by the 
steepness of the hill and the morass. John, one of the brethren 
from Galloway, had followed the chase on foot ; and now coming 
in, seized the buck by the horns, and, being a man of great 
strength and activity, threw him on his back, and ran with his 
burden about a mile up the steep hill, to a place called Cracra- 
Cross, where Kenneth had halted, and laid the buck at the 
Sovereign's feet. 1 



iFroissart relates, that a knight of the household of the Comte de Foix ex- 
hibited a similar feat of strength. The hall-fire had waxed low, and wood was 
wanted to mend it. The knight went down to the court-yard, where stood an 
ass laden with fagots, seized on the animal and burden, and, carrying him up 
to the hall on his shoulders, tumbled him into the chimney with his heels upper- 
most : a humane pleasantry, much applauded by the Count and all the spec- 
tutors. 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 245 

" The deer being curee'd in that place, 

At his majesty's demand, 
Then John of Galloway ran apace, 

And fetched water to his hand. 
The King did wash into a dish, 

And Galloway John he wot ; 
He said, 'Thy name now after this 

Shall ever be called John Scott 

" ' The forest and the dear therein, 

We commit to thy hand ; 
For thou shall sure the ranger be, 

If thou obey command : 
And for the buck thou stoutly brought 

To us up that steep heuch, 
Thy designation ever shall 

Be John Scott in Buckscleuch.' 



" In Scotland no Buckcleugh was then, 
Before the buck in the cleuch was slain ; 
Night's men 1 at first they did appear, 
Because moon and stars to their arms they bear. 
Their crest, supporters, and hunting-horn, 
Show their beginning from hunting came; 
Their name, and style, the book doth say, 
John gained them both into one day." 

Watt's Bellenden. 



1 " Minions of the moon," as Falstaff would have said. The vocation pursued 
by our ancient Borderers may be justified on the authority of the most polished 
of the ancient nations :—" For the Grecians in old time, and such barbarians 
as in the continent lived ncere unto the sea, or else inhabited the islands, after 
once they began to crosse over one to another in ships, became theeves, and 
went abroad under the conduct of their more puissant men, both to enrich 
themselves, and to fetch in maintenance for the weak ; and falling upon towns 
unfortified, or scatteringly inhabited, rifled them, and made this the best means 
of thear living; being a matter at that time no where in disgrace, but rather 
carrying with it something of glory. This is manifest by some that dwell upon 
the continent, amongst whom, so it be performed nobly, it is still esteemed as 
ornament. The same is also proved by some of the ancient poets, who intro- 
duced men questioning of such as sail by, on all coasts alike, whether they be 
theeves or not ; as a thyng neyther scorned by such as were asked, nor upbraided 
by those that were desirous to know. They also robbed one another, within 
the main land; and much of Greece useth that old custome as the Locrians, 
the Acarnanians, and those of the continent in that quarter, unto this day. 
Moreover, the fashion of wearing iron remaineth vet with the people of that 
continent, from their old trade of theeving."— Hobbeb' Thur,j,iidcs p -i Loud 



246 APPENDIX TO THE 

The Buccleuch arms have been altered, and now allude less 
pointedly to the hunting, whether real or fabulous. The family 
now bear Or, upon a bend azure, a mullet betwixt two crescents 
of the field ; in addition to which, they formerly bore in the field 
a hunting-horn. The supporters, now two ladies, were formerly 
a hound and buck, or, according to the old terms, a hart of leash 
and a hart of greece. The family of Scott of Howpalsey and 
Thirlestane long- retained the bugle-horn ; they also carried a 
bent bow and arrow in the sinister cantle, perhaps as a difference. 
It is said the motto was, — Best riding by moonlight, in allusion 
to the crescents on the shield, and perhaps to the habits of those 
who bore it. The motto now given is Amo, applying to the 
female supporters. 

Note K 2. 
The storm-swept Orcades ; 



Where erst St. Clairs held princely sway, 
O'er isle and islet, strait and bay. — P. 174. 

The St. Clairs are of Norman extraction, being descended 
from William de St. Clair, second son of Walderne Compte de 
St. Clair, and Margaret, daughter to Richard Duke of Normandy. 
He was called, for his fair deportment, the Seemly St. Clair ; and ? 
settling in Scotland during the reign of Malcolm Caenmore, 
obtained large grants of land in Mid-Lothian. — These domains 
were increased by the liberality of succeeding monarchs to the 
descendants of the family, and comprehend the baronies of Ros- 
line, Pentland, Cowsland, Cardaine, and several others. It is 
said a large addition was obtained from Robert Bruce, on the fol- 
lowing occasion : — The King, in following the chase upon Pent- 
land-hills, had often started a " white faunch deer," which had 
always escaped from his hounds ; and he asked the nobles, who 
were assembled around him, whether any of them had dogs, 
which they thought might be more successful. No courtier would 
affirm that his hounds were fleeter than those of the king, until 
Sir William St. Clair of Rosline unceremoniously said, he would 
wager his head that his two favourite dogs, Help and Hold, would 
kill the deer before she could cross the March-burn. The King 
instantly caught at his unwary offer, and betted the forest of 



LAY OP THE LAST MINSTREL. 247 

Pentland-moor against the life of Sir William St. Clair. All the 
hounds were tied up, except a few ratches, or slow-hounds to put 
up the deer ; while Sir William St. Clair, posting himself in the 
best situation for slipping his dogs, prayed devoutly to Christ, the 
blessed Virgin, and St. Katherine. The deer was shortly after 
roused, and the hounds slipped ; Sir William following on a gal- 
lant steed, to cheer his dogs. The hind, however, reached the 
middle of the brook, upon which the hunter threw himself from 
his horse in despair. At this critical moment, however, Hold 
stopped her in the brook ; and Help, coming up, turned her back, 
and killed her on Sir William's side. The King descended from 
the hill, embraced Sir William, and bestowed on him the lands 
of Kirkton, Logan-house, Earncraig, &c. in free forestrie. Sir 
William, in acknowledgment of St. Katherine's intercession, 
built the chapel of St. Katherine in the Hopes, the churchyard 
of which is still to be seen. The hill, from which Robert Bruce 
beheld this memorable chase, is still called the King's Hill; and 
the place where Sir William hunted, is called the Knight's 
Field. 1 — MS. History of the Family of St. Clair, by Richard 
Augustin Hay, Canon of St. Genevieve. 

This adventurous huntsman married Elizabeth, daughter of 
Malice Spar, Earl of Orkney and Stratherne, in whose right their 
son Henry was, in 1379, created Earl of Orkney, by Haco, king 
of Norway. His title was recognised by the Kings of Scotland, 
and remained with his successors until it was annexed to the 
crown, in 1471, by act of Parliament. In exchange for this 
earldom, the castle and domains of Ravenscraig, or Ravensheuch, 
were conferred on William Saintclair, Earl of Caithness. 



» The tomb of Sir William St. Clair, on which he appears sculptured in 
armour, with a greyhound at his feet, is still to be seen in Roslin Chapel The 
person who shows it always tells the story of his hunting-match, with some 
addition to Mr. Hays account; as that the Knight of Rosline's fright made 
him poetical, and that in the last emergency, he shouted, 
" Help, Haud, an ye may, 
Or Roslin will lose his head this day." 
If this couplet does him no great honour as a poet, the conclusion of the story 
does him still less credit. He set his foot on the dog, says the narrator, and 
killed him on the spot, saying, he would never again put his Deck in such a 
risk As Mr. Hay does not mention this circumstance, I hope it is only founded 
on the couchant posture of the hound on the monument. 



248 APPENDIX TO THE 

Note L 2. 

Still nods their palace to its fall, 

Thy pride and sorroia, fair Kirkwall. — P. 175. 

The Castle of Kirkwall was built by the St. Clairs, while Earls 
of Orkney. It was dismantled by the Earl of Caithness about 
1615, having been garrisoned against the government by Robert 
Stewart, natural son to the Earl of Orkney. 

Its ruins afforded a sad subject of contemplation to John, Mas- 
ter of St. Clair, who, flying from his native country, on account 
of his share in the insurrection 1715, made some stay at Kirk- 
wall. 

" I had occasion to entertain myself at Kirkwall with the 
melancholie prospect of the ruins of an old castle, the seat of the 
old Earls of Orkney, my ancestors ; and of a more melancholy 
reflection, of so great and noble an estate as the Orkney and 
Shetland Isles being taken from one of them by James the Third, 
for faultrie, after his brother, Alexander, Duke of Albany, had 
married a daughter of my family, and for protecting and defending 
the said Alexander against the King, who wished to kill him, as 
he had done his youngest brother, the Earl of Mar ; and for 
which, after the forfaultrie, he gratefully divorced my forfaulted 
ancestor's sister ; though I cannot persuade myself that he had 
any misalliance to plead against a familie in whose veins the 
blood of Robert Bruce ran as fresh as in his own ; for their title 
to the crowne was by a daughter of David Bruce, son to Robert; 
and our alliance was by marrying a grandchild of the same 
Robert Bruce, and daughter to the sister of the same David, out 
of the familie of Douglass, which at that time did not much sullie 
the blood, more than rny ancestor's having not long before had the 
honour of marrying a daughter of the King of Denmark's, who 
was named Florentine, and has left in the town of Kirkwall a 
noble monument of the grandeur of the times, the finest church 
ever I saw entire in Scotland. I then had no small reason to 
think, in that unhappy state, on the many not inconsiderable 
services rendered since to the royal familie, for these many years 
bygone, on all occasions, when they stood most in need of friends, 
which they have thought themselves very often obliged to 



LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 249 

acknowledge by letters yet extant, and in a style more like 
friends than souveraigns ; our attachment to them, without any 
other thanks, having brought upon us considerable losses, and 
among others, that of our all in Cromwell's time ; and left in that 
condition without the least relief except what we found in our 
own virtue. My father was the only man of the Scots nation 
who had courage enough to protest in Parliament against King 
William's title to the throne, which was lost, God knows how : 
and this at a time when the losses in the cause of the royall 
familie, and their usual gratitude, had scarce left him bread to 
maintain a numerous familie of eleven children, who had soon 
after sprung- up on him, in spite of all which, he had honourably 
persisted in his principle. I say, these things considered, and 
after being treated as I was, and in that unluckie state, when 
objects appear to men in their true light, as at the hour of death, 
could I be blamed for making some bitter reflections to myself, 
and laughing at the extravagance and unaccountable humour of 
men, and the singularitie of my own case, (an exile for the cause 
of the Stuart family,) when I ought to have known, that the 
greatest crime I, or my family, could have committed, was perse- 
vering, to my own destruction, in serving the royal family faithfully, 
though obstinately, after so great a share of depression, and after 
they had been pleased to doom me and my familie to starve." — 
MS. Memoirs of John, Master of St. Clair. 



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THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS; OR, 

THE ARABIAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS. Translated 
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Wood Cuts. In three volumes. 

Contents, 



INTRODUCTION. 

THE SULTAN OP THE INDIES, THE SUL- 
TANESS SHEHRAZADE AND HER SIS- 
TER DINARZADE. 

THE OX, THE ASS, AND THE LABORER. 

THE MERCHANT AND THE OENIE. 

THE FIRST OLD MAN AND THE GAZELLE. 

THE SECOND OLD MAN AND THE TWO 
BLACK DOGS. 

THE THIRD OLD MAN AND THE MULE. 

THE FISHERMAN AND THE GENIE. 

THE GREEK KING AND DOUBAN THE 
PHYSICIAN. 

THE HUSBAND AND THE PARROT. 

THE VIZIER WHO WAS PUNISHED. 

THE YOUNG KING OF THE BLACK ISLES. 

GANEM, THE SLAVE OF LOVE. 



THE ENCHANTED HORSE. 

THE PORTER, AND THE THREE LADIES 

OF BAGDAD. 
THE FIRST ROYAL CALENDER. 
THE SECOND ROYAL CALENDER. 
THE ENVIOUS MAN AND THE ENVIED. 
THE THIRD ROYAL CALENDER. 
STORY OF ZOBEIDE. 
STORY OF AMINA. 
NOUREDDIN AND ENIS ELJELIS, THB 

BEAUTIFUL PERSIAN. 
THE THREE APPLES. 
THE LADY WHO WAS MURDERED. 
NOUREDDIN AND HIS SON, AND SHEM- 

SEDDIN AND HIS DAUGHTER; BED- 

REDDIN HASSAN AND THE QUEEN 

OF BEAUTY. 



THE LITTLE HUMPBACK. 

THE CHRISTIAN MERCHANT'S STORY. 

STORY OF THE SULTAN'S PURVEYOR. 

STORY OF THE JEWISH PHYSICIAN. 

STORY TOLD BY THE TAILOR. 

STORY OF THE BARBER. 

THE BARBER'S FIRST BROTHER. 

THE BARBER'S SECOND BROTHER. 

THE BARBER'S THIRD BROTHER. 

THE BARBER ; S FOURTH BROTHER. 



THE BARBER'S FIFTH EROTHER. 
THE BARBER'S SIXTH BROTHER. 
CAMARALZAMAN AND BADOURA. 
PRINCE AMGIAD AND PRINCE ASSAD. 
THE SEVEN VOYAGES OF SINDBAD TH* 

SAILOR. 
PRINCE AHMED AND THE FAIRY PARI- 

BANOU. 
AEOU HASSAN, THE WAG. 
ALI COGIA, THE MERCHANT OF BAGDAD. 



ALI EBN BECAR AND iHEMSELNVHAR. 
ALADDIN, OR THE WONDERFUL LAMP. 
ADVENTURES OF HAROUN ALRASHID. 
BABA ABDALLAH. 
SIDI NOUMAN. 
COGIA HASSAN ALHABBAL. 
PRINCESS GULNARE OF THE SEA. 
KING BEDER BASIM AND THE PRINCESS 
GIOHARA. 



ALI BABA AND THE FORTY ROBBERS. 

PRINCE ZEYN ALASNAM AND THE KING 
OF THE GENII. 

PRINCE CODADAD AND HIS BROTHERS. 

THE PRINCESS OF DERYABAR. 

THE THREE SISTERS. 

PRINCESS PERIZADE AND HER BRO- 
THERS. 

CONCLUSION. 



" A beautiful American reprint of a book which furnishes, perhaps, as much of the 
' stuff that dreams are made of,' as any other that we could mention. This has long 
been needed and wished for, and the book produced is just what was wanted. Paper 
and print unexceptionable ; illustrations graceful and suggestive, and price extreme- 
ly moderate; nothing mars the pleasure of possessing a work without which not 
only no library, but no youthful imagination, can be considered thoroughly fur- 
nished." — Union Mag. 

" The republication of these fascinating stories, in so good and cheap a form, will 
be very acceptable to the community. No good Americau edition, to our knowledge, 
has as yet been published, and it has been difficult to find it, except in the very ex- 
pensive illustrated French or English editions " — Boston Daily Adv. 

10 



PUBLISHED BY C. S. FRANCIS & CO., NEW-YORK. 



THOUGHTS ON THE POETS : 

By Henry T. Tuckerman, Author of " Artist Life," etc. 
Being Essays on the Lives, Characters, and Writings of the following 

$)oets: 



PETRARCH, 

COLLINS, 

THOMSON 

CRABBE, 

BYRON, 

BURNS, 

COLERIDGE 

HEMANS, 

DRAKE, 



GOLDSMITH, 

POPE, 

YOUNG, 

SHELLY 

MOORE, 

CAMPBELL, 

KEATS, 

TENNYSON, 

BRYANT, 



GRAY, 

COOPER, 

ALFIERI, 

HUNT, 

ROGERS, 

WORDSWORTH, 

BARRY CORNWALL, 

BARRETT, 



This volume does credit to the critical taste and imaginative faculties of the 
author, who passes in review the works of hetween twenty and thirty of our more 
modern poets, quotes them, points out theii beauties, and estimates their qualities in 
an enthusiastic spirit, congenial to his subjects, and yet not so unchecked as to lead 
him into indiscriminating admiration. He displays taste and judgment, in fact, as 
well as fancy ar.d feeling; and though verging toward praise, is not biind to the 
claims of criticism ; and is it not better, as well as more just, to be somewhat gentle 
in your visitings, and rather lavish than otherwise of encomium and encourage- 
ment, than to suppose that the critic's true office consists in detecting microscopic 
blemishes, magnifying them, and parading your superior talent in ill-natured carp- 
ing and dogmatic abuse ? Be assured that censure is not only the easiest, but the 
worst species of inquisition : any fool can find faults, but it requires a competent 
person to point out merits, and institute faithful comparisons. In performing hia 
pleasing task, Mr. Tuckerman has shown that he possessed this power ; and he has 
made a volume of a very agreeable nature, studded with poetical quotations, in sup- 
port of his opinions. — London Literary Gazette. 

Almost any man's true, unaffected, living thoughts on the poets, whose verse 
makes part of our mental substance, could hardly fail to be acceptable. We all 
love to talk about our friends, and to hear others talk about them, in the right 
spirit. But Mr. Tuckerman's talk is as if we heard from a fine genial soul, who had 
seen our friend since we had seen him ; and knew him and loved him quite as well 
as ourselves ; minute and discriminating accounts of his excellence — made extra- 
piquant by personal anecdotes, and reminiscences of amusiDg and pathetic passages 
in his history.— Mirror. 

Mr. Tuckerman is one of our especial favorites. There is a grace, delicacy, and 
earnestness about his writings, which we admire and love ; while his candor, his 
warm appreciation of the merits of others, and his critical nicety of discrimination 
in literary matters, constitute him, in our opinion, one of the best guides to those 
who, not being able to give much time to study, are yet desirous of cultivating a 
taste fur elegant letters. — New York Gazette. 

This volume does great credit to Mr. Tuckerman as a writer and critic. No work 
has appeared from an American source, within our memory, so thoroughly imbued 
with the belles-lettres spirit, as this. It is the result of much patient thinking on 
the most attractive of all subjects, and is admirably calculated as a guide to a large 
class of the reading public, who have the means and the time to gratify liteiary 
tastes, but are ignorant of the relative rank and importance of the different English 
poets, and of the best method of reading them to advantage. . . , This volume is 
well calculated to convey knowledge as well as opinions. We cordially recommend 
It to the lovers of poetry. — Boston Courier. 

16 



PUBLISHED BY C. S. FRANCIS & CO., NEW-YORK. 

Works of SffiMlltam OTarc, 

ZENOBIA; OR, THE FALL OF PALMYRA: 

A Historical Romance, in Letters of L. Maulins Piso from Palmyra, 

to his friend Marcus Curtius at Rome. 2 vols. l2mo. Seventh 

edition. 

" ' The Letters from Palmyra' is one of the most brilliant additions to American 
literature. To have fallen on a subject of such admirable capabilities, and unap- 
propriated by previous seekers after attractive themes for works of notion, was a 
piece of rare good fortune, in an age of such literary abundance as the present ; to 
have treated it in a manner fully equal to its demands on the imagination, required 
high powers, persevering labor, and the keenest perception. All this has been done 
in this beautiful work." — North American Review 

" Minds that go ' far back in the ages ' to refresh the imagination and seek instruc- 
tion, nothing repelled by the associations of antiquity, will be drawn towards this de- 
lightful book by its name merely, and once conversant with its pages, will never 
cease to feast upon them, until ihey have possessed themselves of the whole." — New- 
York Evening Post. 

"It has already become a classic, and needs no commendation." — Tribune. 



AURELIAN : OR, ROME IN THE THIRD 
CENTURY. 

In Letters of L. Manlius Piso, from Rome, to Fausta the Daughter 
of Gracchus, at Palmyra. 2 vols. 

" This is a new edition of " Probus," the well-known sequel to " Zenobia." The 
Ruthor states that the book has been republished abroad in sever .1 places, under the 
name of "Aurelian," and that, so far from complaining of the liberty taken, he 
could not but regard it as a piece of good fortune, as he himself had long thought 
"Aurelian" to be a more appropriate title than the one originally chosen. Francis 
& Co. have now issued it in two neat but cheap volumes. It is hardly necessary to 
speak of the merits of a work which not only has crowds of enthusiastic admirers, 
but which has been deliberately placed, by consent of both learned and unlearned, on 
the same shelf with the most original prose productions of America — the writings of 
Brown and Irving. If any who read this paragraph have not yet read Zenobia and 
its sequel, we say to them do so at once. Put by or throw away tie productions of 
to day for a short time, and read the most artistic, consistent and elevating pictures 
of " old Rome " and her enemies, which has ever been attempted.'' — Boston Post. 

" This work presents the struggle of Paganism with Christian ty, in the midst 
of one of the great eras of persecution, and, in our esteem, is, with "Zenobia," not 
only one of the most remarkable, but also one of the most valuable productions in 
the field of historic fiction, whether of this or any other age." — Christian Register. 

"These volumes show how thoroughly the writer's mind was imbued with the 
beauty aud spirit of those classical authors, whose treasures of learning and gems 
of thought he seems to have made all his own." — Jour, of Commerce. 



JULIAN ; OR SCENES IN JUDEA. 2 vols. 

" The style of these works cannot be too highly commended. It is easy, graceful, 
and pure — varying with the subject, and happily expressive of all its changes. In 
narrative, it is simple and unadorned. In description of external scenery it becomes 
ornate, and sometimes highly colored. It is a great excellence in fictitious composi- 
tion, to make the reader see the things described. This is precisely the leading 
excellence of the descriptive parts of our author's works. They seem to be reali- 
ties reduced to writing. The books leave an impression of completeness, just pro- 
portion, and admirable distribution of parts, which are found in perfection only in 
the works of great masters.'' — North American Review. 

" These works evince an extent and minuteness of classical learning which but 
few possess, and fewer still have the power so beautifully and skilfully to embody. 
The student of history, and especially the student of classic language and histo y, 
will derive as much solid instruction as the reader of taste finds delight in the 
graceful sketches, the pure style, and the exalted sentiments which characterize 
them." — New- Ywk Evangelist. 

18 



